A Mirror Darkly
by Twilights Herald
Summary: A world beyond the looking glass. A nightmare in reflection. But for Aida Mana, the greatest threat is the one in her own heart. Labels: Dark, Shojou-ai, Mature Themes, (implied) underage sex.
1. Chapter 1

_(A/N: Just in case the tags on the summary didn't warn you off, this is not a sweet, happy story. There are adult themes, violence, death, and implied underage sex ahead. If these aren't your cup of tea, you'll probably want to back out now, before later chapters are published._

_New chapters will be published weekly, at approx 7:30 PM EST.)_

While there are many who have called New York "The City That Never Sleeps" those with a wider view of the world know that there are many 'Cities That Never Sleep' everywhere. But Tokyo is unique, for it is a city that comes closest to true sleep only during the day. Early in the morning, after all the salarymen and students have been quietly shuffled into the prisons of their daily existence, but before those few who instead stay home have woken up for their afternoon play or work on the home, those are the only times you might hope to escape notice in Tokyo.

Thus it was that, just out of view of all the cameras watching out for the safety of the children in a park, behind some bushes up against a building, a swirling doorway of pink light opened. But what stepped through wasn't the (almost) expected monstrosity, but two girls. Looking no older than fifteen, they seemed to share nothing in appearance but a certain weariness. One, with magenta hair, mangled but down to her waist, was wearing what was obviously a fleece jacket that had been scrounged up from somewhere, probably a rubbish bin. It was several sizes too large for her, coming down well past her hips and almost covered the pair of shorts she was wearing to keep her modesty. She brushed her hair out of her brown eyes. "We...we made it...you have that old paper money, right?"

"Of course," the other said. Her blonde hair was just as long as her companion's, but held back in a tight ponytail. She reached into her leather jacket, worn over a red silk blouse that was quite low cut, counting out some bills and handing them to her friend. "Twenty million yen. Easy enough, since it's worthless." She reached into a single pocket in her tight shorts, material matching the jacket.

The first one snorted. "Worthless back there. Here...well, it's probably not enough to live on."

The blonde smirked. "What, giving up already on a little bad intel? What happened to giving me the world?"

"I promised to give you a world you'd love." The other girl said, sounding somewhat weary. "Maybe we'll be in luck, there won't be any magic here. We could rule the world in a few years, make it just how we like."

"Hey, now," The second girl pulled her friend around and looked her in the eye. "Don't lose focus on me. They wouldn't have made a portal to a world like that. So we have to get help. There's too few of us now. Eclipse and Sagittarius can't hold the fort themselves. We have to go back."

The girl with the magenta hair nodded slowly. "All right, my queen."

She was answered with a short laugh. "You don't have to call me that." Suddenly a transformation came over her expression. "Anyway, I want ice cream!"

"...right. I promised to get you some." The first girl laughed. "I swear, you're so selfish." While the words could be seen as biting, they were spoken with affection and love.

* * *

Average in height, but not in energy. Hair and eyes a bright magenta in color that almost blends into the crowd. Her figure is slim and athletic and, at least at the moment, she's wearing a sporty pink tank top and a black pair of boyish shorts, her hair temporarily let down. This is Aida Mana, enjoying a rare day off from her usual pursuits in the middle of a department store. She turns to her companion. "Shame Alice couldn't make it, and Makopi had to work. How do I look?"

Said companion was slightly taller than herself, with dark blue hair down to her waist. Or rather, it would be if it were not up in two ridiculous pigtails, apparently quickly re-styled to compliment the ridiculously frilly dress she had chosen to try on. Her reaction to the outfit her companion had chosen, however, was to literally emit a sound between a cough and a laugh. "...Mana, you look like you're trying to_ be_ Makoto."

Any retort Mana might have made died on her lips. "Rikka...that is…"

"It's_ formal,_" Rikka tried lamely...then laughed herself. "Okay, yeah. But you have to admit, with the festival over we've only got a few days of vacation left. Isn't it nice to enjoy it?"

"...I'm bored." Mana admitted. "Finished my homework, student council work, that silly exercise regimen's over, read all the books I checked out of the library…"

Rikka sighed. "Mana, when _is_ the last time you relaxed?"

"Probably about the start of the year." Mana's response was matter-of-fact, as if this wasn't a big deal. Rikka realized Mana probably didn't think it was.

A pair of the most unusual creatures popped out from behind a rack of clothes. They were both about a foot tall, and vaguely humanoid in shape, but that was where the similarities end. One was bright pink, with ears reminiscent of a rabbit tied to the top of her head with a bow. "Mana can relax-sharu?"

The other, a blue creature with ears that flopped downward in a more canine manner, just shook his head. "I don't think I've ever seen that-raqu."

Mana gave them a look that, coming from her, could be a glare. On almost anyone else it would be more of a pout, but it did represent the greatest amount of true hostility she could muster towards someone. "I'll have you two know that I do too relax."

"...yeah, by collecting Makopi stuff." Rikka sighed. "Mana, we have got to oh no you don't whatever it is IT CAN WAI…" She went from resignation to stern scolding to yelling, before trailing off as Mana suddenly turned and ran down the aisles of the store.

She was brought up short by a cold chuckle, one that would have been familiar, but Mana's voice was never that...unconcerned. Rikka realized that someone was enjoying her worry for her friend and snapped towards the source. "I don't see where it's any of your business."

The girl she was confronting was her age, but and definitely looked a little bit like her best friend, but brown eyes and black hair seemed to indicate otherwise. Then there was the girl's bearing. Behind the obvious amusement, this person was nothing like any middle schooler Rikka had ever met before. Her eyes seemed to dart aside constantly, checking every angle. Rikka had been in enough fights as Cure Diamond to realize that she was checking for ambushes, although strangely she also seemed to be watching the security cameras as well. A second glance at the shoulder-length hair caused Rikka to realize something was off about it as well. _A dye job?_

Her attention turned back to the girl when she finally spoke. "I never knew what that looked like from the outside."

"How_ what_ looked from the outside?" Rikka demanded. "And aren't you being just a bit rude?"

"I'd say it's probably you being rude," the stranger countered. "I was just making an observation, but you seem to be accusing me of something."

"Wha-I-wh?" Rikka spluttered a few times, but then got her composure back. "Maybe you should just mind your own business!"

"That's damn good advice you should take for yourself, Hishikawa." The mysterious girl brushed on by her, only to suddenly find a hand restraining her shoulder. "...hands off. You're not funny anymore."

"How do you know my name?" Rikka demanded.

The woman didn't turn around, but her voice dropped to a tone she hadn't even heard from the Jikochuu. "Last chance. Let go or_ I will hurt you._" Rikka was so stunned her hand fell away...bringing the girl's hair down with it. Before Rikka even knew what was happening, she suddenly found herself knocked to the floor, face-down, so she couldn't see what her assailant looked like now. "Damn you, Hishikawa. Always messing things up." Rikka rolled over but when she looked up, the girl was nowhere to be seen.

Rikka looked down at the wig in her hands, but other than the fact that it was a very well-made wig, there weren't any clues to be had from it.

* * *

What Mana had seen, which none of the others had, was a long trail of shimmering blonde hair. True, it was in the next department over, half way across the floor, and headed down an escalator, but she had to check, had to know. She whipped around the corner, narrowly avoiding colliding with a lady coming up the stairs as she ran down, only barely catching up to the blonde girl and panting out "Regina…"

Regina, who had come into their lives as an agent of the Jikochuu, enemy of the Precure of Oogai city. The "Princess" and daughter of their leader. The innocently selfish girl who had declared herself Mana's friend, only to be trapped in a cycle of misunderstandings and bizarre events as they slowly came to understand each other and redefine what the word meant. Although if Mana were to be truthful to herself, Regina had learned far more than she had. And then, just as the princess had finally truly become their friend, she had been kidnapped and brainwashed into fighting them once more.

...and it was not Regina standing in front of Mana now, looking at her with pained purple eyes. Purple, not red, not blue. Not Regina. "...I..I'm sorry."

Regina's voice spoke, giving Mana a little surprise. "...I'm not who you think I am. You're better off, because who you think I am is probably a grade-A bitch if I know anything about it."

Mana stopped dead in shock. "That's not true!"

Not-Regina raised an eyebrow. "I wonder if...but no, I'm not…" She took a deep breath, and raised her hand to snap her fingers. "Please forget you saw me. I'll only bring you pain, Miss Aida."

"..eh?" Snap. Mana's eyes glazed over, just for a moment. When she was next aware of her surroundings, she wondered what she was doing in the lingere section of the store.

* * *

The girl Mana had dubbed Not-Regina raced down the stairs, glancing over her shoulder at Gemini, whose wig had obviously been lost somewhere. "I swear, I can't take you out in public anymore."

"Shouldn't that be my line?" Gemini shouted, glancing over her shoulder as if there were an army of demons behind them, instead of a large number of confused shoppers. "You used your power to draw out someone's desires in_ public_!"

"Oh, relax, it's not like I turned her into a monster!" The other girl ducked under a display of soup cans as they got to the bottom floor. "You're the one who beat up an innocent girl in the middle of the store!"

Gemini brazenly grabbed an apple and tossed a two-thousand yen bill on the counter while ducking through the line. "Hishikawa ain't innocent and you know it!"

"Don't know it, and neither do you!"

Gemini glanced at the door. "Wrong way! Stay out of the arcades, you_ know_ that!"

"We don't have a choice!" came the answer, the blonde glancing over her shoulder. "Security seems to be slow today!"

The pair raced into the tunnels beneath Tokyo, a maze of shops and small restaurants. They took a right turn into a temporarily abandoned row of drinking establishments and ducked into a fake wooden hut, leaning against the door and looking out. Gemini took a breath, and glanced at her very-much-not-winded companion. "I envy you, you know."

"Oh, knock it off," she chuckled nervously, then glanced out. A janitor stared back at her, then shrugged and continued mopping. "...weird. Why haven't they dropped the shutters?"

"...for a little bit of roughhousing and not standing in line to pay?" Gemini breathed in deep. "Yeah, okay, it was dumb of me to think that rule applied. You think we lost the cops?"

"They don't seem to have followed us. Did you get what you needed?"

Gemini held up a shopping bag. "It'll do. We'll need fake IDs, then we can check into a hotel."

The other girl frowned. "Do you know where to get them?"

Gemini pulled out her cell phone. "I have an old map of Tokyo. I think I can find where the guys we got ours from have a shop out here."

"...right." She took a slow breath. "...you know, maybe we should just go looking for them. We know there are Precure in this world, they can probably put us up in a basement for a couple of days."

Gemini looked like she might object for a moment, then sighed. "Yeah, sure. I guess the big target is that Makopi concert I saw advertised. I always wondered what happened to her."

"I don't think we can get tickets. I'll have to. . . persuade. . . someone to let us in." She played with her blouse in a rather meaningful fashion.

Gemini waved it off. "Since it's for a good cause, it's fine."

"Right." The 'queen' smirked. "Well, why don't we get you changed into something more respectable and go get that ice cream?"

"...yeah, sure."

* * *

Rikka shot down the escalator as soon as she was sure her assailant was out of sight. What she saw...well, really surprised her actually. Mana didn't usually run off for nothing, so Rikka really expected her to be looking for a child's mother, helping an old lady to the elevators, or the best case scenario waving to whoever had caught her attention for a few moments.

Instead, she was staring into space at a display th - no, not thinking about that. Rikka shot up and grabbed her by the shoulders. "Mana, what happened?" Mana gave her friend a rather empty stare back for several moments. "Uhm...are you all right?"

Mana giggled in a manner that was surprisingly airheaded..

Rikka, nonplussed, put a hand on the other girl's forehead. "Well, no fever…"

Mana giggled again. "...You're pretty, Rikka. You should get those clothes."

Rikka paused and blushed. "Mana, what happened?"

"Nothing." Mana said, still distantly and slightly giggly.

Rikka paused again, and then gave Mana a light slap on the cheek. "Snap out of it!" she hissed.

Mana blinked, then suddenly seemed to return to her usual self, although annoyed. "What was that for?"

"You ran off!" Rikka hissed again, trying to avoid attracting attention. "And then someone attacked me!"

Rikka found Mana's own hand on her forehead a second later. "Rikka, are you feeling all right? Nothing like that happened."

"I_ know_ it happened!"

Mana shook her head. "Everything's fine. Nothing happened today," she said, a little more insistently.

"Then why did you run off?"

Mana shrugged. "I thought I saw something, but it was nothing. Look, maybe you need to take a break. Maybe a sandwich at the restaurant?"

"...okay, fine." Rikka sighed, realizing she wasn't going to get any further in this conversation immediately. After a moment's pause, she asked "Uhm, do you really think I'm pretty?"

A grin and shrug were her only response, as Mana nervously turned towards the elevator.

* * *

The girl known as Kenzaki Makoto was sprawled out in a booth just out of the sunlight, a potted plant carefully guarding her face from being seen by most of the shop. Wearing her usual outfit of a long vest over a formal shirt and a pair of shorts for her 'tomboy' image on stage, she reflected maybe she should have gone for one of the 'cute' looks after all. The heat of the summer wasn't unbearable, but she'd kill for short sleeves. But at least now she had a chance to enjoy one of few well-deserved breaks from the whirlwind lifestyle of an Idol could be a ten minute break for...

A strawberry and chocolate sundae was placed on the table in front of her, breaking her out of her brief reverie. "Here you go, Makoto." DB, her manager, said. "You know, we've got more than a few minutes. You don't have to rush." Makoto looked up at the severely dressed young woman.

"Don't we have that autograph session to get to?" Makoto asked in return, with a sigh. "This will already make us late, I don't know why you decided to do it,"

"I called ahead and the event in front of us is running long. We have an hour at least, so please, relax." DB said, sighing. "Maybe we should give this up."

"What, and quit show-business?" Makoto asked in a complete deadpan, taking a bite of the confection.

DB raised an eyebrow. "Did you just crack a joke?"

"No," Makoto said while putting another spoonful of ice cream into her mouth. "How much money do we have banked?"

"Close to a hundred million yen," DB said, flipping open a cell phone. "Of course, most of it's tied up in trusts..."

Makoto shrugged. "Well, then, unless you want us to wait tables I've got to do this for another two years to keep up appearances..."

DB glanced over at the door for a moment, as if keeping an eye out for fans, but really it was to avoid Makoto's gaze. "I'm sure we could stay with Alice..."

"...no." Makoto's voice dropped another notch. "We take advantage of her hospitality and resources enough just for Precure stuff, I'm_ not_ going to impose like some kind of...of refugee."

"What about Sir Johnathon then?" DB pressed. "He's got a store..."

Makoto glared angrily at her partner. "A store that's just barely staying afloat. There's no way he could take care of two freeloaders. Besides, I'm happy doing this. Mana was ri - " She found herself cut off in mid-sentence by an all-too-familiar whining voice from the register. "...Davi..." she said quietly. "Is that..?"

Davi turned around and peered around the plant at where the sound had come from. A girl wearing a rather plain sundress was holding back another with blonde hair in a long ponytail from jumping over the counter. "It..._sounds_ like Regina...but..."

The blonde suddenly ceased her struggles and turned up her nose. "Fine, if you don't have the pistachio I'll have green tea."

Davi quickly ducked back into the booth. "I don't think it's her. She looks too old, and Regina's still the enemy. I don't think she'd just give up on something like that."

Makoto peeked out herself. "...wait, is that Mana?" Before Davi could stop her, Makoto was on her feet and walking up to the counter. "Aida Mana! Have you gone mad!?" she asked, not noticing until it was too late that the girl whose shoulder she was grabbing had hair much longer than her friend's, squeezing down and turning her around...only to look straight into brown eyes.

"...I'm sorry," the girl stated with a coldness that was very much unlike the Aida Mana that Makoto knew. "We have never met before. Whomever you believe you are talking to, I am not her. I suggest you go back to your sundae," She gave Makoto a quick shove back towards Davi. "

On someone else, the attitude might have worked, but Makoto was a veteran Pretty Cure. "Hey, you can't just push me around like that! Don't you know who I am?"

"I don't care," The strange girl who looked so much like Makoto's friend said back. "Leave us alone!" The last word was shouted angrily, and she looked for a moment like she might do something more, but a hand on her shoulder from her friend calmed her down. The girl with the unkempt magenta hair looked over her shoulder. "...sorry."

The blonde nodded, then smiled before addressing Makoto. "I'm sorry about my friend bu..." her eyes suddenly landed on DB, and they went wide. "...Gemini, we have to go."

Gemini blinked a few times at the sudden change in reaction. "But, your ice cream..."

"Now!" she suddenly grabbed Gemini's wrist and started dragging her out of the shop. Makoto stared for a moment, took a step...and felt a 'crunch' under her foot. Looking down in shock, she realized she had stepped on a brown contact lens...and just as Gemini was being pulled out of view, so fast she wasn't even sure if what she was seeing was real, it seemed that Gemini had magenta eyes to match her hair...just like Mana.

"...what the heck is going on here?"

* * *

Mana's cell phone - the real one, not Sharuru, rang. Mana flipped it open, leaning away from her drink casually. Rikka quirked an eyebrow at Mana's casual "Hello,"

Makoto, in the corner of the ice cream shop, glanced down the street nervously. "Mana, something weird just happened. Are you all right?"

Mana sighed in frustration. "What's with everyone today? Everything's fine."

"...Mana, are you okay?" Makoto wasn't used to the idea of Mana being dismissive of a problem. To put it mildly. "I just saw a girl who looks just li-"

"_Everything's. Fine._" Mana's voice acquired a tinge of desperation. "Absolutely_ nothing_ happened, Makopi. You're worrying about nothing."

Rikka suddenly reached across the table, snatching the phone out of Mana's hand. "Makoto, Mana's…"

"_Really_ not acting like herself. Listen, I ran into a girl who looks just like her following_ Regina_ around of all people."

"...I think I know who you mean." Rikka's voice went quiet and serious. "Look, don't provoke them, whatever you do. This...other-Mana,"

"Will you stop that?!" Mana shouted. "There is_ absolutely nothing going on._" Rikka looked up...and Mana's eyes were wide, absolutely terrified.

Rikka swallowed, realizing that Mana wasn't_ insisting_. She was_ hoping._ It was as if she was convinced that the world would end if she acknowledged that there was something strange going on. She finally spoke into the phone. "Makoto, look. Mana's. . . not doing well. Could you please check on this, make sure that it's nothing for me?"

Makoto blinked rapidly on the other end of the line. "But something weird is definitely going on Rikka."

"Make. Sure. It's. Nothing," Rikka tried again, pointedly. "It's not dangerous, everything's fine, but just to make sure."

Makoto quickly got the message. "She's dangerous, isn't she?"

"Absolutely. Mana's just going to worry about you being worried, right?"

Mana grinned and nodded while Makoto sighed. "Try to get through to her in the meantime, all right."

"I will," Rikka forced herself to smile, but it couldn't reach her eyes. "Have fun, be careful, don't step out onto the sidewalk without looking or anything."

* * *

Makoto's limo pulled to a screeching stop as traffic halted and people ran, screaming, along the sidewalks and in the streets. DB, ever helpful, couldn't help but smirk. "I think we've found the place." Makoto's only response to her partner was a curt nod. She got out of the limo and, with a practiced ease, began weaving her way through the crowd. She glanced over her shoulder, satisfied that DB was only a few steps behind.

Just as the mob was thinning enough to see what was going on, Makoto heard a distorted voice "Too loud!? I have to work next to the noise every day, it's not too loud! You people! You're just too sensitive!" A loose chunk of concrete nearly took her head off, and as she got closer she saw the thing that threw it, The thin legs coming out of a giant, mundane object weren't new, nor were the spindly arms. There was no real escaping it, though.

"It's a jackhammer," DB said, somewhat dumbfounded.

Makoto sighed. "It doesn't matter. Davi!" She held out her hand, and DB changed forms, becoming a purple feline creature that was more like a stuffed animal than a real one, and then from there into a shape like a cell phone before landing neatly in Makoto's hand.

But before she could do anything else, a streak of black ran past her. It was the same blonde she had run into earlier, only now with her black dress and long stockings, she was looking a little more like Regina. The dress was tailored to her figure better than Regina's, and she kept her hair in the ponytail, but otherwise they were hard to tell apart. She looked back over her shoulder. "You're wasting time! If you know how to use that, use it!"

Makoto blinked several times, stunned, before shouting out "Precure, LOVE LINK!" In another flash of light, she was changed. Her hair a shade lighter, with a new ponytail and a fancy minidress, she felt a familiar power flow through her body.

Regina smirked and glanced up at a nearby street lamp, and shouted out to the man who appeared on top of it. Dressed in a trenchcoat with a purple silk shirt, scarf, and fashionable shades, the old man would already have been out of place if not for the bat wings coming out of the back of his neck. "Well now, Bel. Fancy meeting you here."

"Regina," He said neutrally. "So, even after everything your father's done,"

He was cut off with a laugh. "I don't really know or care what King Jikochuu's been up to around here. But seeing you alive is a bit of a surprise. Oh well, thanks, I was wondering how I was going to get some Precure out of the woodwork. You just made my job easier. Now, run off home."

Bel scowled down at her. "Regina, this will end, or I'll kill you myself."

Regina hmphed, then looked back at Sword. "You handle the Jikochuu, I'll deal with the old man up there?"

Sword was staring at the exchange, completely dumbfounded. "Uhm...yeah."

Regina flew quickly into the sky and left Sword to deal with the jackhammer-monster in front of her. She decided to try for a quick dash in, but sudden waves of sound crushed the street in front of her and sent her flying back down the street. She managed to land on her feet with some difficulty and righted herself, looking at the creature before trying again. This time it let her approach, but countered her punch with one of its' own. "Stop bothering me about the noise! It'll stop when I'm done tearing up the street!"

"Hey! Your job is just to fix the pothole, isn't it?" Sword asked the monster. "Isn't destroying the whole street overkill?"

"Jiko..." the thing responded, winding up for a huge punch. With practice born from many times experiencing this, Sword braced herself for the impact. "...CHUUUUUU!"

Bouncing off the window of a nearby building, Sword needed a moment to recover after hitting the ground. A gesture summoned her bow, and took aim. "Precure Sparkling Sword!" Instead of a an arrow or singular beam of energy, instead Sword's attack sprayed the street with energy bolts. Unfortunately, she hadn't yet worn down the Jikochuu enough to score a solid hit, and instead it burrowed under the ground.

But there was someone else in the way. Regina screamed as Sword realized her shot was headed towards the girl who she had called 'Gemini.' Gemini herself seemed puzzled, waiting for the attack to pass harmlessly over her, but Regina dove at her and knocked her clear of the magical attack.

Regina stood up, looking at Sword in a manner that suggested there was going to be intense violence in the immediate future, when the Jikochuu tried to pound her with its' fist. "...oh, right, you're still here." A lightning bolt knocked it back. "...Sword, watch it with that thing!"

Sword found herself sputtering. "What...that was...

Regina turned around and looked away, up into the sky. "I don't answer to you. If I think you're aiming that at my Gemini again, Precure or no...where'd he go?"

The 'second most powerful' Jikochuu gave a short laugh from the other end of the alley, the three now pinned in pace. "Enough. Time for you to come home, Regina..."

Regina's eyes opened suddenly at that. "It's 'time' all right...time to stop playing around." Sword's eyes widened as_ Regina_ was the one to vanish this time, blurring into motion and catching Bel from behind. "Listen to me, old man, and you listen good. I have a message for you to give to my 'daddy.'" Bel was frozen in fear, for the first time in a long time, at the sudden ice in Regina's words. "This world is_ off limits_. How many Precure are there now?"

"...five," The old Jikochuu general wasn't sure why he'd answered honestly, beyond surprise at the sudden turn.

Regina gained a little of her humor back for a second. "Five. Five Precure, and you're having trouble. If you don't stop_,_ I will bring an_ army_ of Cures down on your heads, and damn the consequences. Earth is_ mine_ and I will keep it."

Bel finally regained some of his composure. "What are you babbling about, little princess? Where are you going to get an army of Precure?"

Regina released him. "Let me show you..." She viciously kicked the back of his knee, then tossed him into the ground hard. "Bel, allow me to introduce you to my Precure." She walked casually to Gemini's side.

Gemini pulled out a gray device with a heart-shaped screen. Sword's eyes widened. "Sebastian's Artifical Commune? Where did you get that?"

Gemini glanced at her. "He made it for me. This one's a bit different though." Regina turned to Gemini and suddenly kissed her on the forehead, placing a hand over the Commune. Then, they shouted together. "Precure, LOVE LINK!"

Sword found the resulting light almost painful to watch, having to squint to see something pink move from Regina's chest, into the Commune, before spreading out over Gemini's body. When the light had faded, what was standing there was anything but what she had expected. Gemini's hair had turned blonde, and was now tied back up high in a pigtail that was allowed to splay out behind her. She was wearing a blouse that bared her shoulders, but covered with two armored shoulder-pads in the shape of red hearts, with a white breastplate over pink cloth. A cape was also pinned to her blouse by two small heart pins, plain white and flapping in the breeze generated by the excess energy from the transformation. Instead of a skirt, below her belt she was wearing a tight-fitted pair of shorts and white greaves. Lastly, in her hand there was a familiar white sword hilt, decorated in an elegant, looping style. She flicked her wrist, and a blade of pink energy extended from it. When she spoke, it was in a voice that could almost have come from Mana, with only hints of her former anger. "The star of love! Cure Gemini!"


	2. Chapter 2

Bel smirked. "Clever, little bird. But don't think that'll fool me. You've just put Cure Heart in a new outfit."

Gemini braced herself with her sword, and suddenly a pair of black, feathered wings sprouted from her back. "GEMINI…" Black and white energy spiraled from nowhere, embracing the magic of her sword and causing it to expand. "SLASH!" She brought it around...and the black-and-white blade formed into a wide crescent that cut down the alley, leaving a deep grove in the stone of both buildings and hitting Bel directly in the midsection.

The 'second-strongest' Jikochuu's eyes widened and he doubled over in agony, teleporting away and letting the blade pass through where he had been into the street, where it cut a car in half and knocked over a street lamp on the other side.

Sword's eyes went wide as the winged Precure turned towards the Jikochuu to repeat her performance "STOP!" Gemini's eyes went wide as she realized what she was about to attack, and her wings vanished. "Stop..let me." The second time her voice was more gentle.

Gemini paused, then nodded and stood aside. Sword raised her bow again as the Jikochuu monster raised itself up for another strike. "Precure Sparkling Sword!" This time, the attack scored true, and the Psyche was fluttering off a moment later.

Gemini smiled at Sword for the first time since they'd met. "...look, about what happened in the ice cream shop. I'm sorry, I thought you were just some stuck-up pop princess. Well, you are an idol singer, but you're also a Precure, and that gets you a lot of credit in my book."

Sword grinned a bit back at that. "Thanks...but...well, you look so much like someone I know. What's your name?"

"Gemini." The reply was a complete deadpan.

Sword pursed her lips. "I mean, your real name."

"Gemini."

Cure Sword blinked at that, trying to parse it for a moment. "I mean your human name."

"Gemini." It seemed like something wasn't getting through.

"...I mean...what was your name before you became a Precure?"

"...fine. I was once called Aida Mana. Please, don't use that name. You've got_ some_ respect but I don't even let most of my allies call me that." Gemini's voice was soft, with just a faint hint of a growl. "Besides, you used my name in the shop, so I presume there's another Mana running around. 'Gemini' will also help avoid confusion."

"...And should I call your Regina 'Queen?'" Sword asked, somewhat sarcastically.

"I'd rather just be Regina," the blonde said. "Unless there's another 'me' around."

It was Sword's turn for a depressed look. "She's been kidnapped. We probably won't run into her."

Regina sighed. "Sorry. I'll try to think of something better then." She glanced up the street and snapped her fingers, her dress changing back into the business suit she had been wearing earlier. Gemini and Sword followed suit just as a pink limo pulled up next to them. The window rolled down and a girl with blonde hair done up in buns looking out...and staring.

"R..Regina!?" She held up her hand. "Lance!"

A small yellow teddy bear popped up behind her head. "Right!" With a puff of smoke, it had changed into a Cure Commune and was in the girl's hand.

"It's fine, it's fine Alice, Lance!" Makoto quickly interjected. "They're..." She glanced over at the pair for an explanation, only to see them looking at Alice with tears in their eyes.

Gemini was the first to speak. "A...Alice? Is that you?"

Alice opened the door to the limo and stepped out. "Uhm...yes, it's me...what's wrOOF!" The air was rapidly expelled from her lungs when she suddenly found herself being embraced by a rather affectionate Jikochuu princess.

"Oh, Alice! You have no idea what a relief it is that you're here!" Regina half-sobbed, half-shouted. "We came to this world looking for you..."

Makoto blinked several times, before turning to Gemini with an expression half-way between shocked and offended. "Wait, what about me?"

"I've known Alice since we started school," Gemini said flatly. "No offense, but the first time I met you was an hour ago."

"The first time you met Alice was thirty seconds ago." Makoto countered.

Alice tried to loosen Regina's grip.

Gemini shrugged. "Well, so far the Jikochuu here aren't that different. The people probably aren't either."

"That doesn't even make SENSE!" Makoto shouted back.

Gemini just sighed. "My universe stopped making sense months ago, Miss Kanzaki."

Alice slowly turned blue.

"Whatever!" Makoto finally snapped. "For a minute I thought you might be like Mana after all."

Gemini winced, then seemed to collapse in on herself. She crossed her arms over her chest. "Makoto...you're right. I'm not used to being the one needing help."

Makoto put her own arms around Gemini. "Hey, it'll be all right. We'll get you back home..."

Gemini took a moment to think about how to reply to that. "That's the problem." Gemini hugged Makoto back, however. "We'll...I'll explain later."

Alice made a slight wheezing sound, and her struggling to get out of Regina's grasp ceased.

"Regina, stop," Gemini chided her friend. "You're letting your feelings run away with you again." Regina's grip released, and Alice sucked in air like it was her very first breath after a lifetime in vacuum.

"...sorry, Mana." Seeing Alice was all right, Gemini joined in the hug. Alice put her arms around the pair in an effort to be comforting, although her expression made it clear to Makoto that she really didn't know what was going on. A moment later they disengaged, and gave each other a somewhat awkward look.

Alice was the first to speak, in a quiet and refined voice. "It's good to have you back, Regina."

"...I'm not Regina," The girl replied. "Well, I_ am_ Regina, but...I don't think this is the place to talk about it."

"Quite. Sebastian, we'll be headed back to the manor."

Regina grinned. "And tea?"

"Of course!" Alice swallowed as she realized something. "Oh no, we've got to get out of here!"

"What's wrong?" Makoto blinked, but then she looked. While the street had mostly repaired itself, the evidence of Gemini's attack hadn't been repaired by whatever magic usually cleaned up after them.

They couldn't pile into the car fast enough. But as the tires squealed and Makoto had a few moments to think, she realized something. _The damage goes away when the Jikochuu is defeated...including ours. So why would Gemini's not fade?_

* * *

The Yotsuba manor house was set in the middle of an idyllic garden, appearing to not be in Tokyo's Azabu-Juuban district only by virtue of clever landscaping to deflect sound from much of the city proper. At night the illusion broke from the city's street lamps, but during the day one could imagine the hustle and bustle of the city was miles from the western-style building.

There, in a sun room backed by a small grove of trees, Alice and Makoto were staring, open-mouthed, at their two new guests. The fine tea service sat in the corner, completely cold, as Sebastian had brought in simple iced black tea in several large pitchers, and a plate heaped down with sandwiches of almost every description.

This had happened about five minutes ago. By Alice's estimation, the meal would have fed the entire board of directors of Yotsuba Media. While it might have left the thirty of them a mite peckish, the dessert tray in the center of the table would certainly have taken care of that.

Half the food Sebastian had brought in was gone, and Gemini and Regina showed no signs of slowing down.

Makoto finally managed to tear her eyes away from the spectacle. "Okay, they've been through a lot," she began, speaking slowly and somewhat skeptically. "I can get that they probably haven't gotten much to eat recently. What I want to know is how_ Sebastian_ not only figured that out, but had this ready to go."

"I phoned ahead," Sebastian said in his calm voice. "Although the sweets were meant for everyone."

Alice smiled, most of her composure returning. "We'll have tea properly after the others get here." The phone rang, and was quickly picked up. "Yes. Please, come on up you two," She put the receiver down again, and then cleared her throat. "Gemini, Regina?" The pair looked up sheepishly from their simple feast. "Ah, good. Everyone else will be here in a moment."

Gemini quickly cleaned off her face with a handcloth. "Right. There should be two more, right? I don't suppose you can get other Precure teams up here on short notice..."

"That's right," Alice quietly folded her hands. "We can summon them, but only three live in Tokyo and they're adults, so they're usually busy in the afternoons. There's one more of us, but we didn't have time to pick her up and she'll be busy helping her grandmother at the tea house anyway. It would take about a day to bring everyone together."

Regina grinned and bit into one last sandwich. "Well, that's all right then. We can spend a few days on this side without a problem." She quickly went through the rest, swallowed loudly, her eyes going wide as Mana came around the corner and into the room.

Mana's eyes widened in sheer terror. "Wha..no...I...nothing! I'm not seeing!"

"Oh _shit_! Mana, you have to listen to me!" Regina jumped to her feet and flew up to look Mana in the eyes.

"No!" Mana tried to back away, but Regina put her hands on Mana's shoulders to hold her in place.

"Mana," She spoke softly, sweetly. "Mana, listen to me. I'm nothing to worry about, there is nothing unusual about me."

Mana's eyes widened as she was forced to look on the source of her irrational fear. "You...you're…"

Regina nodded. "I'm a friend. A friend being in a friend's house is normal, right?" Mana nodded. "Right. Just relax, and listen to me." Mana nodded again, taking deep, gulping breaths. "You want to trust me, right? Even though everything in you is screaming at you to run and hide?" Another nod, this one with a little whine of terror. "Good."

Regina snapped her fingers, and a heart with swirling blackness suddenly rose from her chest. The others gasped at the appearance of Mana's Psyche, the heart that Jikochuu like Regina could draw from a person to make a monster. The Psyche pulled out only slightly further, a raised lump of a jewel-like substance growing out of Mana's chest. Mana's eyes glazed over, and slowly a dull smile formed on her face.

Makoto reached out for Davie, but Gemini raised a hand to stop her. "I've seen her do this before. I've also seen her mess it up. She needs to concentrate."

Alice swallowed. "Will Mana be all right?"

Gemini smiled sadly. "In all likelihood, yes. Miss Aida is strong. At worst, Regina will just have to leave the room."

Makoto shot Gemini a look of disgust. "You're lying."

"...yes." Gemini said with no emotion. "If this goes as horribly wrong as it can, Miss Aida will become a Jikochuu. Not one of those silly monsters. She'll be like one of the servants."

Alice shot up...then slowly sat back down. The newcomers were right. What had been done to Mana couldn't be left alone. She waited.

Regina, meanwhile, started to whisper to Mana. The tone was almost loving, but tinged with an unwholesome desire that no one could quite ignore. "You don't have to be afraid, Mana. Just let your heart do what it wants. There's no need to worry about anything unusual, just deal with it the way you always would." This continued for almost a minute, while the swirling darkness faded. The Psyche finally sank back into Mana's chest, leaving no evidence it had ever been there at all.

When the process was finished, Regina fell to her knees on the floor, her eyes visibly faded from a bright amethyst to a dulled violet-gray.

Makoto stood up. "Okay, what th-"

"What happened?" Mana looked down at the ground. "Regina!"

"Stay back!" Makoto shouted. "She did something to your head!"

Mana frowned at Makoto. "But she fixed it. Now, what just happened?"

Gemini stood up. "Regina's going to be out of it for awhile, so I'll explain. Regina...well, she drew out your Psyche and changed it. I don't know all the details, but it's...well, she put an idea in your head, and then she just took it out."

"Why?" Mana's response was unusually cold for her, enough to make Alice glance at Makoto worriedly. And from the way Makoto was still glancing at Davi every few seconds, it was obvious that the answer would have to be a good one if Alice's sitting room was to be kept in one piece.

Fortunately, Regina managed to raise her head. "I didn't know she was Cure Heart, okay?" Everyone gasped in shock at that, except Gemini who hung her head. "Oh come on! You girls are smarter than that. We knew who Alice is right away, Gemini's a version of Mana, figure it out. The odds of it being the same people in both worlds was pretty low, and I'd have been attracted to Mana if I ran into her regardless of whether she was a Precure or not, right? So I figured I'd do a good deed and make sure Mana never followed up on any curiosity about the 'weird Regina clone.'" She snorted. "Okay, so I messed up, and yes, I'm_ sorry_ I hurt you." She suddenly sniffed. "I'm sorry…."

Mana reached down to hug her and found herself tangled up with Gemini as well. There was an awkward moment, but the crying blonde between them demanded all attention for the moment. Alice smiled, waiting patiently, while Makoto just sat back down with a huff.

Regina found herself grinning despite herself. "Well now. No, I'm sorry, not Regina. Sort of. But I'm hoping we can be friends."

Mana nodded while Gemini sighed and let her head droop in exasperation. "Regina, please." She looked up at her counterpart. "Miss Aida?"

Mana blinked in confusion several times as her brain finally made the connections that were slowed by normally only seeing that face in a mirror. "I have a twin sister?!"

"THAT'S NOT IT!" Regina and Gemini shouted at her together. Regina coughed. "Right. This is Cure Gemini, or Gemini to everyone but me."

Mana pouted. "You don't have to hide your real name, we're friends right?"

Gemini glanced down at her hands, which were wringing her skirt. "Yeah. But I just don't use any other name really. Gemini suits me now."

"Well, if you insist, Gemini is a fine name," Mana grinned and took a seat on the couch next to her twin. "Rikka'll be along in a second, she just went to grab something from the kitchen."

The atmosphere in the room seemed to chill rapidly.

"What?" Makoto looked between the visitors in sudden confusion.

Gemini let out a low growling sound. "Why on Earth would you bring_ her_?"

"Bring who?" Rikka came through the door holding another tray of sweets in her hands. She stopped, staring shocked at the sudden looks of loathing she was getting from the new girls. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

Gemini ignored her, looking instead to Alice. "I'm waiting for an explanation for this."

"What's to explain?" Mana was close to shouting. "She's my best friend, and she's Cure Diamond!"

Gemini stood up and turned her glare on Mana, who refused to budge. "That girl is a threat to_ everything_ Miss Aida. You don't know what she's capable of, in her heart of hearts."

"I refuse to believe it could be anything that terrible!" Mana now really was angry, grabbing Gemini by her blouse and pulling her close. "I'm telling you, Rikka is my friend. She stays."

"...fine." Gemini pushed Mana off. "Come on, Regina. There are three other Cures in this city, maybe we can track them down on our own."

Regina stopped, looking between Gemini and Rikka, who was staring completely in shock at the display. "Gemini, love. I think we should stay."

Gemini turned around on Regina. "WHAT?!"

Regina swallowed nervously. "Mana..." The short-haired Mana looked at the other girl in surprise, but neither of the two talking paid her much heed at this point. "She's not Rikka. She's not_ Rune_. The girl in this room_ hasn't_ done anything to us."

"It's not about what she's_ done_, it's about what she_ could do_." Gemini snarled. "She - You were_ there_ Regina! She killed Sharuru, and Lance!"

The room went completely silent for several moments.

Rikka managed to find her voice, but it was faint. "I did what?"

Regina sighed. "Look at her, love." Reluctantly, Gemini turned towards the blue-haired girl. "That's not the face of someone who knows what you're saying. She didn't..."

"She _wouldn't_!" Mana finally managed to speak up again. "You're LYING!"

Gemini finally stopped, and collapsed into the couch with a sob. Regina put her arms around the other girl. "I'm...I'm sorry." She lowered her voice, speaking to Gemini in a gentle whisper. "Mana...Mana...we need to tell them so they'll understand. So_ she_ will understand."

"I don't care."

Regina smiled. "Liar."

"Selfish girl." The exchange of insults had everybody confused again, especially since Gemini seemed mostly composed again. "Fine. Rune."

"Diamond," Alice said. "She's Cure Diamond, if you have to use her Cure name to feel comfortable."

"All right. Diamond. I don't think I can call you Rikka." Gemini said, sounding genuinely apologetic. "That person meant too much to me, once."

Rikka nodded to that. "I hope you can forgive me for what...this 'Rune' did to you."

"There's nothing to forgive, as long as you learn something from her," Regina said before Gemini could speak. "Right, why don't you all sit down?" No one seemed to be quite sure when everyone had stood up, but the four girls took their seats while Sebastian waited quietly in the background.

Gemini began. "If you've met other Precure, then you're aware of the existence of many other worlds beyond our own." Everyone nodded. "Right...now, where we came from...it's hard to explain, but imagine that concept, only applied to time. Each set of worlds, where major decisions and possibilities occur, creates new 'sets' of worlds, or what's called 'dimensions.'

"That is where we're from. Another dimension where someone made another decision, and it was big enough to change the entire course of the universe."

"Wait! So what are you saying changed?" Rikka sniffed back a tear. "What could possibly have changed to make me...that?"

Gemini bit her lip for a moment. "We're not quite sure where the divergence point is yet, but we have figured out it was probably some time about nine or ten years ago. Or maybe it was hundreds of years ago and things just proceeded almost exactly the same except that some other guy won some famous battle half way around the world before they all died and nothing changed. These dimension things are way beyond me."

Regina coughed. "If I can finish telling them." Gemini and Regina both had the grace to look sheepish. "Ahem! What I can tell you is that the JSDF openly involved themselves in a major battle between Precures and Youkai. The area was cordoned off, a lot of people died, and to this day no one's sure exactly what the hell happened, but half a year later there were problems in the Alps, and another town was under Youkai attack from another world."

Gemini picked up the story. "Regina missed this part, but it was on the news a_ lot_ back then. The police were blaming two girls. That was when the world first heard about 'Pretty Cure'. They put together a new government agency just for dealing with magic, and their star agents are known to us as 'Cure Bloom' and 'Cure Egret.'

"They hunted down Cure Black and Cure White and...well, captured them. We don't know for sure, but we're told they were executed a few weeks later, after a 'secret trial' that wasn't open to the public."

Everyone stared at Gemini, and other than Sebastian they were all going decidedly pale.

Mana stood up. "This is...this is horrible!"

"I agree." Makoto stated, but much more quietly. "But, you're here now, and you're safe." She looked across the table into Gemini's eyes. "I've got some experience setting up fake identities."

"We weren't finished." Gemini sighed. "Thanks for the offer, but we can't stay. We came as much to warn you as to get help," Everyone went quiet again. "Thank you. You see, from there things got worse. It started with a Pretty Cure anime, of all things. By now they had a pattern, after all, and they were encouraging young girls to do the sensible thing if a youkai, faerie for most of them, introduced themselves and turn them over to the authorities. That part, I don't have a problem with."

Regina snapped "What, not going to mention the part where they encourage the older ones to sign up to become Cures with the Youkai Task Force?"

"I was getting there, yes." Gemini sighed. "There are a limited number of spots, and no I don't know how they do it without faeries to partner with the kids before you ask. But if you get picked it means everything for your family. There's a twenty million yen paycheck in it for you, personally, every year. You get nearly a hundred thousand a month personal pay, and the rest goes into trust. Your family, who basically never get to see you again except maybe on the news, gets the same up-front for ten years, guaranteed. Even if you're killed."

Rikka looked like she was about to throw up. "That's just_ sick_."

Regina gave her a nasty glare. "They're using you on the ads this year."

Mana stood up again. "That was uncalled for Regina!"

Regina winced. "Sorry."

Gemini just gave them_ all_ another nasty look until Mana sat down again. "Right. The important thing right now is that while this has been going on, they pulled in top scientists to start studying magic. And they_ thought_ they were building a portal to other worlds, like the Trump Kingdom. Instead, they made one to other dimensions. But they've geared up for war, and from what we can tell...they're not planning to stop."

She waited for the various cries of disbelief to settle down. "I know, I know. So, that's why we're here. Your only hope now is to destroy the YTF's magical power source and close off the dimensional gate machine. But..."

Alice was the one to speak. "When they find out you're here, they're going to send through every one of those girls to this world to try to stop that."

"Right." Regina said. "It's not quite as bad as it sounds. We have this." She pulled a small little device, bright pink with several buttons on it, out of her pocket. "This key opens and closes the gate. As long as we have it on this side, that gate can't open to this dimension. Well, until they crack their own encryption or build another one, either of which will probably take a few weeks."

Makoto looked Gemini straight in the eyes. "There's one thing about this that's suspicious to me. How did you find out about this, and how did you get away?"

Gemini's hand curled into an angry fist. "We had a friend inside, with an understanding. We help her out with the monsters, and she doesn't turn us in. Every so often we managed to get some reliable intel from her. Until now."

Gemini took a deep breath before continuing. "So that's the situation. And, for what little it's worth, I'm sorry to be forcing this on you."

Mana sighed, gave her clone a sudden hug, and then said "I understand. You wouldn't do this if you thought there was another way. But can you please give us a few minutes to talk about it?"

Alice nodded her agreement. "Regardless, you can stay here until you've got yourselves sorted. Sebastian. Please prepare two guest rooms. They'll be staying awhile."

"One." Regina said suddenly.

Everyone but Sebastian blinked. "Very well. This way, M'lady..." Regina stood up and floated behind Gemini as they followed Sebastian out of the room.

Once they were gone, the faeries popped out of their hiding spot under the table. "That was_ scary_-sharu," Sharuru said, hugging herself. "Rikka..."

Rikka winced. "Let's forget about that part for the moment. What do we do?"

Alice picked up the tea Sebastian had just poured. "Personally, I don't think this is a job for the four of us here."

Makoto swallowed. "Agreed. This is too big for us."

Mana frowned. "You know...for once, I can't argue. It sounds like they want us to fight a whole war for them. I don't want to tell them 'no' but we have to think about our Earth too."

Rikka sighed in relief. "Oh thank God. I really wasn't looking forward to talking you out of this..." She swallowed again as she realized seven pairs of eyes were staring at her. "What? You're not seriously considering this? Makoto, you just said it yourself!"

"Rikka," Mana said, sounding serious "I just went to bat for you with them. They said some awful things about you. and I told them they had to be wrong. Are you saying I was mistaken, or that I lied?"

"Mana, NO!" Rikka wanted to shrink into the couch, a feeling that only grew when Raquel floated right into her face.

"Rikka, please-Raqu..."

Rikka took a deep breath. "All right. Yes, I think we should say 'no' but that's because I don't see what other choice we_ have_. We're four people everyone. Five if we count Jonathon, and we don't even know where to get in touch with him."

"Six," Mana started, but Rikka cut her off.

"No, Mana. This is horrible stuff, we're absolutely_ not_ telling Aguri." Rikka took a deep breath. "She's nine years old. She shouldn't be brought into this mess."

Mana took a deep breath. "All right, no Aguri. But there's got to be something we_ can_ do."

Alice smiled. "Well, we can call the others in. If we include everyone, there's almost fifty of us."

Makoto nodded. "They have their own lives, and I know we try to keep it to ourselves to keep things quiet, but it's not like we haven't helped them out before. They're all good at what they do, even if some are probably out of practice. They said we had a few days."

Rikka winced. "Right, I hadn't thought of that. When you put it that way...all right. We'll bring the others here, but we're putting it to a vote. If we don't get enough willing to step up for this, we figure out something else."

Davi raised her voice. "Even if Makoto's the only one going, I'm going with her. You didn't abandon us when it was our world, now it's our turn."

"I'll go too. I'm curious about my own twin, I must admit," Alice said.

Lance grinned and landed on his partner's head. "If Alice is going, I'll go-lans."

Mana grinned. "Sharuru, what about you."

"Of course-sharu!"

Rikka looked around, then sighed. "Even with knowing how dangerous this is going to be...all right. And we leave Aguri with the others to help her out with Tokyo, then."

"YAY!" Mana grinned "Oh, this is so exciting! I never thought we'd get to see another_ world!_"


	3. Chapter 3

Gemini plugged the flash drive they had brought into the computer under the podium. The room could have been in almost any office building, anywhere, the desks built into stepped platforms, with stairs down the middle and along each wall to allow access. Currently, no one was seated in them, but in a couple of days at most she had been promised almost fifty magical girls would be present to listen to her make her plea for help.

It would have been the happiest moment of her life, if not for one thing.

"Why won't this thing_ read_?"

Sebastian walked over from where he was fiddling with a large group of boxes and wires. "Allow me, Miss." He looked over at the computer and frowned. "That is unusual. Is this possibly in a new format?"

"What?" Gemini looked up at Sebastian, puzzled.

The aged butler typed in a few more commands, and something scrolled through the screen. "I see. Do not worry, Miss. I can have this sorted out in a few hours."

Gemini had a sudden sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach. "What's wrong?"

"It seems the government in your world has forced the publishing of a new operating system with a backdoor to allow them to look into the contents of these files. I wouldn't worry too much, you need a network connection to actually get to them, and I doubt you have one in your home." He took the stick out of the PC. "I'll need to take this."

"...ah...yeah." Gemini sat down on the floor, hard. A hand landed on her shoulder, and with a scream she reached into her jacket to pull out her Commune before realizing she had nearly drawn on Alice. "Oh, oh god! I'm sorry."

Alice just smiled at her. "It's quite all right. I brought you some rose tea, but it sounds like you'll be taking a break."

"Just some technical issues." Gemini sighed. "I guess we kinda suspected already, but to have it confirmed like this..."

Alice smiled. "I took the liberty of inviting Aguri over to watch a movie. I hope you don't mind cartoons."

"Not at all." Gemini grinned. "It'll be great to watch anything that isn't the news."

The blonde offered her hand to pull Gemini to her feet. "You don't watch anything but the news back home?"

"Monster attacks, and we've only managed to steal one TV set out of the dumpster that we could get working."

"...oh, oh my." Alice frowned. "Uhm...really, I must insist that you keep details like that to yourself around Aguri. It was a shock to the rest of us, but I really don't think she's ready to talk about this sort of thing."

Gemini's eyes narrowed. "You make it sound like she's eight years old."

"...nine," Alice admitted. A moment later, she found herself being held up by the lapels of her dress.

"WHAT THE HELL!?" Gemini screamed in her face. "You dragged a NINE YEAR OLD GIRL into this?"

"She was a Precure before the rest of us!" Alice yelled back, struggling to get out of Gemini's grip without tearing her blouse. A moment later, Gemini let her down.

"All right." She took a deep breath. "I guess I shouldn't be angry about something you had no control over, but really? When you find out who did that, seriously, beat them up."

Alice shook her head. "Really, she's..."

"No. Alice, don't make excuses for that, I don't want to hear it." Gemini scowled. "The YTF doesn't use kids_ that_ young, and they probably wouldn't use teenagers but there's_ something_ that makes us better at using magic if we get it early. And you're right, we are_ not_ bringing her back to my side, and if she tries to argue I'll tie her up to make sure she stays here."

"All right, we'll leave her in charge over here." Alice held up her hand. "She'll have the others to help her covering the bases, but you said yourself our powers work best on the Jikochuu, and hers are the same, so..."

Gemini's scowl didn't break. "Agreed, but don't expect me to be thrilled about this."

"Just don't let Aguri know." Alice glanced nervously over her shoulder. "She's really responsible for her age, and she wouldn't like the suggestion."

"If she wants to talk back to me about it, she can beat me up," Gemini said. "Same offer I'd make to anyone on my side without experience on the team."

"Let's see...popcorn, rice crackers, plenty of tea..." Mana set down several bowls of snacks on the coffee table. "Shame we can't use the big meeting room,"

"Well, this will be more comfortable anyway," Makoto pointed out. "Speaking of which, there's seven of us. We're going to need somewhere else to sit." It was true, the couch and chairs were only enough for five.

Mana thought for a moment. "I'm sure Alice won't mind if we bring in another couch. If you could move that big one there a bit so everyone can see."

"I'll go help you with that,"

Mana waved the offer off. "It's fine, it's fine, I've done bigger jobs by myself."

"Yeah," Makoto stared as Mana went into a burst of her usual activity, rushing off into the next room while she struggled to move the furniture around the room into an aesthetically pleasing arrangement. Well, if she'd had the time a normal person would take to move a couch on their own, it wouldn't have been a struggle for her.

But Mana wasn't a normal person in this regard by any stretch.

Makoto had barely managed to finish her portion of the job when she saw the new couch being pushed in. Somehow, it seemed Mana had found the one piece of furniture in the entire posh mansion that wasn't either an antique or top of the line, and thus could be given this rather rough treatment. Makoto quickly grabbed the other end and lifted it up.

"Ah, thanks Makopi. Let's just get it there, then we can order the movies." Mana beamed.

"Are you sure this is all right?" Makoto asked.

Mana grinned. "What, afraid I'll order your Snow White?"

Makoto gave her a bit of a look. "Hey, I did just fine in that movie."

"Yep, I know you did!" Mana was practically bouncing...

"...I worry about you sometimes." Makoto finally said, eliciting a look of confusion. "I'm not sure it's normal to be a fan of someone you're friends with."

Mana grinned. "Well of course I'm still a fan! I love your music!"

"Well, I guess it's fine. Just avoid turning into a stalker, all right?"

Mana pouted. "I wouldn't - " Makoto's sudden laughter caught her off guard. "...are you making fun of me?"

"Maybe a little." Makoto was still grinning. "Don't worry, I don't think you're going to suddenly turn into some wei..." she got very quiet, suddenly seeing a troubled look on Mana's face. "I didn't mean anything..."

The look didn't go away. "Makopi...you don't think I'm..." The words were quiet, with an uncharacteristic desperation.

"...hey, what's this all of a sudden?" Makoto looked around desperately for a distraction.

"Gemini's scary," Mana admitted as the silence grew thicker. "She's...she looks just like me. It's like looking in a mirror, if I grew my hair out. But...but she's not me, right? I could never be that...that..." Mana was startled when she suddenly found her hands in Makoto's, staring into purple eyes that glittered like hard amethysts. "Right?" She .

Makoto was caught off-guard. She had her suspicons, of course, but...no, bringing that up now would not be productive. _Even if Gemini's magic isn't like ours, she's still a person, and it would be wrong to just ignore_ Mana's_ problem. _She took in a breath. "...Mana...I'm sorry, but...when we first met, after she changed...just for a moment she was...bright, happy. And some of the things she says...she watches the news all the time in case there's a monster attack she can get to. You have to admit, Mana..."

"...no...no." Mana tried to take a step back, but Makoto held her hands tight.

"Mana, I'm not finished." Makoto said firmly. "Yes, she's very much like you in all the important ways. So, yes, you_ could_ become like her, if circumstances were extreme enough." Mana blinked, her defensiveness broken. "Remember, Mana, she had to watch Rikka, her best friend, turn on her and try to kill her to get that hard. She's been living out in the wilderness. She's half-starving, not going to school. She hasn't seen her family in months."

Mana swallowed. "So..."

"If things get really bad, then yes, that could be how you deal with it." Makoto said. "But, things aren't likely to_ get_ that bad for you. Rikka is a good person, just like you are. There's no one exerting outside pressure here."

"Wait, what?" The other girl blinked several times, her eyes darting around at the sudden turn of the conversation.

Makoto smiled. "The YTF almost certainly came up with some story to get Rikka to act that way. She must have thought she was really doing what was best."

"Are you sure?" Mana asked, desperate for the life-line in the storm of uncertainty her life had become.

"Positive."

Mana smiled. "Okay then. We won't bring that up to Gemini, but we can show her that_ we're_ friends here. All of us."

"That's the Mana I know." Makoto gave one of her trademark smirks. "We'll worry about the details tomorrow."

Gemini stared.

Regina stared.

They had been warned, but somehow they didn't really believe it until now.

There was a young girl staring back at them from across the room, a rather serious and cross expression on her face, with dark red eyes.

"This is a prank." The girl, Aguri, said. "Very funny, Mana." She didn't look like she was laughing, a sentiment shared by the two visitors.

"I'm not Mana," Gemini would_ not_ express annoyance. This was just a kid. A little girl playing at being a grown-up. "She's busy setting up the movie,"

Aguri's expression didn't change in the slightest. "People do not just suddenly appear out of nowhere, especially clones of_ real_ people," she said as if explaining to someone much younger than herself. Ironic, from Gemini's point of view.

Regina smirked. "I've seen pictures of your Regina. How do you explain that I've gained two years on her?"

"You're a faerie, you can look how you want to look. And I'm_ very_ cross that you've chosen to inform me that you came back to our side with such poor taste,"

Gemini finally cracked a small smile. "Well, she's got you there. Sort of." She turned back to the girl. "But no, I'm not Mana. Please, call me Gemini."

"This is getting old,_ Mana_." Aguri said back. "What movie are we watching?"

Regina shrugged. "I dunno. Ghibli something."

Aguri scrunched up her nose. "Cartoons? Come on, aren't you a little old for that?"

Gemini bent at her knees to look Aguri in the eye. "Aguri, we made the selection because you're here. Don't you like cartoons?"

The girl shrugged. "Eh, I just thought we'd be watching something a little more your speed. I can handle it."

Regina stuck out her tongue at Aguri, only to have Gemini gently tap the back of her head. "That's enough you two. Well, I'm sure Alice has a good movie library. If you don't want to watch that, I'm sure we can find something."

"What, is something missing?" Mana asked, poking her head around the corner behind Aguri.

Who turned around, slowly.

And turned around again.

She turned around a third time.

And the poor girl made a sound something like 'gleeeahhhh' as her brain tried to process what she was looking at. Wordlessly, she waked over to Mana, got behind her, and pushed her across the room. "Wo-wo-woah! Aguri, what are you-"

Mana found herself positioned next to Gemini and being subjected to the most thorough inspection of her life. No one spoke until, finally, Aguri was standing back in front of them. "...identical twin?"

"THAT'S NOT IT!" All three older girls shouted together, before Mana coughed and calmed herself. "Aguri, this is Cure Gemini, and as we explained over the phone…"

Aguri hmphed. "Well, I don't believe it, and you won't tell me what's going on, so I'm keeping my eye on you two."

Gemini smirked again. "Smart, kid. Not that you could do anything about it if we decided to make trouble."

Aguri started to bristle at that. "Don't you dare make fun of me!"

Gemini shook her head. "I'm not making fun of you. I understand you've had a few years of fighting Jikochuu, but that's what, one, two a week? I've gotten into way more fights than Miss Aida has, and I'm using better equipment. Plus Regina and I have been training with three great combat instructors for hours every day to get up to snuff. You, on the other hand, have to push yourself so hard you've got a time limit."

"I...I...hmph. It doesn't matter." Aguri regained her cool after an extra few moments of pouting. "I'm sure you'll need my help when we get to this 'meeting' of yours."

Regina sniffed. "Offer rejected. Not bringing you along just to get killed, kid."

Mana tried to speak up, but Gemini beat her to it. "Listen, Aguri…"

"I will not listen to this." Aguri turned around. "I'll just wait for you to call me."

Mana shouted "STOP!" into the middle of the argument, and everybody looked at her. She bent at the knees to speak first to the youngest girl. "Aguri, Gemini and Regina are just looking out for you. You'll have an important job tomorrow, but you can't go where we're going. They_ are_ right, you'd just end up getting hurt."

"I can fight circles around you, why are you going to do any better than me?" Aguri asked reasonably.

Gemini swallowed. "Because the plan calls for about ten hours of continuous fighting."

"...oh."

Regina looked like she was about to make a nasty remark, but another tap to the head, from both Aida girls this time, stopped her as Mana took up the torch again. "Exactly. It's going to be the longest, hardest fight we've had so far. Like I said, you're going to have an important job. Maybe the most important of all. But to do it you'll have to stay here."

"All right. But no cartoons tonight!"

Mana shrugged. "Well, I guess we can come up with something…."

Rikka crossed her arms. "Honestly, I don't see what's wrong with what you picked out, but all right."

Mana shrugged. "Aguri didn't want to watch it with us, so we'll just have to pick something else."

Gemini fiddled with the remote. "How does this thing work, anyway? I don't see any discs…"

Alice smiled. "I have a lot of video streaming services, even things that most people can't get in Japan. It's because Clover is a media company - we sometimes buy things from other markets."

"Right. I'd forgotten," Regina grinned. "So, we can watch any movie ever?"

Alice nodded. "Basically. It has to be in Japanese because not everyone speaks every language that might be on the movies, but I've already filtered those out."

Regina looked at Alice blankly for a moment. "That must be inconvenient."

Mana chuckled. "We get by. But what to watch…." she glanced up at the screen. "Hmm…" Gemini tossed the remote casually in the air, letting Mana catch it without either of them looking away from the screen to many dropped jaws.

"How did you know?" Makoto found herself asking.

Gemini just shrugged. "It's where I would have been if I hadn't gotten the remote first."

Mana started flicking relentlessly through multiple screens while tapping at her cell phone. "Nah...no...no...maybe if Aguri weren't here….no…." Aguri pouted at that suggestion but didn't say anything. "Ah, maybe this one. According to the internet it's supposed to be some kind of American classic."

Gemini and Regina both started looking over the description of_ Patton_ and got about a sentence in before stating "No, thank you."

Mana blinked. "I thought you'd like it…" she tried, hesitantly.

"Another time, maybe." Gemini said. "Not really in the mood for war movies."

"Uhm, Makoto, you have any ideas?"

Makoto hummed in concentration. "Well, if we're looking for classics how about_ The Hidden Fortress._ I rather liked that, but they said I shouldn't do period works for my first film."

Rikka grinned. "Why don't we watch your Snow White then?"

Alice's grin was a little more subdued, and a bit mischevious. "It's not on the streaming services yet, but it_ is_ a Clover film so I can probably get a disc…"

"Hmph!" Makoto turned her nose away.

Gemini and Regina glanced at each other. "If it's all the same to you girls, maybe no violence tonight?

Alice's mischevious grin vanished. "Well, perhaps_ Springtime Cherry Blossoms_ the...what?" Rikka and Makoto were both shooting her a look. "I think it's very romantic, and the leads are all very handsome men."

Rikka gave the guests a glance. "Right, one of those romances where the woman lead is an audience surrogate for getting the perfect_ guy_?"

"Oh, right." Alice coughed. "Sorry."

"Eh, did say no violence." Regina chuckled. "But I've already got what I want for romance." She wrapped an arm around Gemini pointedly, causing the long-haired girl to blush and Rikka to jump slightly.

Aguri blinked rapidly several times at the open display of affection. "Am I missing something?"

Regina smirked. "Probably."

"Regina, behave." Gemini scolded, quickly managing to escape the purple-eyed girl's grip. "Regina and I have a relationship, that's all."

There was a long pause, then Aguri nodded. "None of my business."

"Right!" Mana shouted. "But what are we going to watch?"

Rikka looked over at the remote again. "Well, we could always watch a comedy." She flipped through. "Ah! _Hana to Arisu!_ That's a good one!"

Mana grinned. "That's an idea."

"Actually…" Gemini said "I've seen it. And I don't think Regina would appreciate it much - she can be like an alien sometimes."

"Hey!" Regina jumped up. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Gemini grinned. "Nothing, nothing, but you do have to admit that sometimes stuff that's obvious to most people flies right over your head."

Aguri suddenly looked uncomfortable. "Uhm, you know, if we're going to go with what Gemini and Regina would want to watch…"

Regina smirked. "Well, I wanted to go with that Ghibli thing in the first place."

"Which makes sense, since Regina can also be like a kid." Gemini smirked right back at her girlfriend.

"Right." Alice took the remote and pushed a button. "Everybody settle in."

Hours later, night had fallen over the manor house. It had been agreed that, to keep the chances of anything_ else_ going wrong, everyone would stay there overnight. Makoto had been the first to fall asleep, and Gemini had gently laid her out in a nearby bedroom to sleep it off. Afterwards, it seemed like the party would descend into Regina fighting with the other faeries over the video game console, and while it was cute Gemini decided she wanted some time to contemplate the next day, so she had excused herself and gone up into the attic, and was now sitting in the highest window of the Yotsuba mansion, looking out over the city. She opened the window and shivered slightly at the cold. "Summer's ending soon here too, I guess."

Her hand gripped the sword, the one the strange man who had given her the Lovies had also entrusted her with. _I'm sure you'll make good use of this, my sweet heart._ He had said those words to her, and then vanished, leaving her with three ways to transform into a Precure. She fished in her pocket for it, and looked over the blackened trinket. "Useless." She cocked her arm to toss it out the window, but finally pulled back and just put it back. "...coward," she muttered to herself.

She had nearly fallen asleep when she felt a thick blanket being pulled over her body. It said a lot about how secure she felt here that she didn't skewer the person, but merely opened her eyes. "Mana?"

Mana beamed. "Thanks."

"For what?" Gemini looked bewildered for a moment, before her jaw dropped.

Mana nodded, taking a seat opposite her. "You said my name, not 'Miss Aida'"

"I guess I did," Gemini sighed. "It won't happen again, I shouldn't be so familiar."

"Why not?" Mana grinned. "We're just like the same person, right?"

Gemini found herself chuckling. "Sort of, I guess. But yeah. Hopefully in two days I'll be out of your life forever, and you'll be better off."

"No, I won't." Mana said firmly. "Life is always better for having friends to live it with."

"That sounds like something I'd say," Gemini's comment was wistful, addressed to the night wind.

Mana glanced out herself. "Say, what are you doing up here anyway?"

"Thinking," Gemini said after a moment's pause. "I always try to take a few minutes to contemplate what the world looks like if I fail."

Mana's voice filled with trepidation. "And what do you think it looks like?"

"That's what scares me." Gemini said. "Normally, I can't see how I'm making a difference. But I have to try."

"I'm sure you're making lots of difference to the people you save."

Gemini laughed. "I guess that's true. And I don't want to die with a blindfold on, or in bed. If I've got to go, I want to see it coming."

Mana thought the sentiment morbid, but nonetheless kept a smile on her face. "I guess that makes sense. Can't think of how I'd want anything different."

Gemini leaned in close. "Can't you? Don't you want to die surrounded by your loved ones?"

"Well, if I've gotta go, yeah. But I wouldn't mind living forever." Mana desperately looked for a way to change the subject, and found it staring into Gemini's eyes. "...uhm…." from this close, she could see that Gemini's eyes weren't quite identical to hers. Instead of the solid magenta of her own, there were little flecks of blue noticeable floating there.

"Oh, that. Side effect." Gemini leaned in a bit closer, too close for Mana's comfort. "Go ahead, I don't mind."

Mana laughed after a moment and looked away again. Gemini followed after a moment. Neither could quite bring themselves to look back at the other when Mana said "So, friends?"

"Yeah."

"And I promise, after we save your world we'll come to visit."

Gemini shrugged. "Maybe you won't have to….living here would be...nice."

"Really?"

"Don't get me wrong!" Gemini waved her arms to clarify. "I'm not thinking of doing that 'till the job's done."

"Good!" Mana declared. "No friend of mine is gonna give up."

"Yeah," Gemini said quietly after a moment, looking down into the garden below. A moment later she realized Mana was leaning out the window right beside her to contemplate it and jumped back in.

Mana pulled back at a bit less of a rush. "Sorry, I just wondered what you were seeing."

"The flowers," Gemini tried lamely.

Mana shrugged. "I was seeing Regina...my Regina. She tried to kill herself to save me, once."

"Yeah, I can see that." Gemini found herself smiling. "How about I make you a deal? We both make it through this, and I'll do everything in my power to get your Regina back."

Mana found herself sorely tempted. She looked at Gemini and realized that she meant that. Sincerely meant it. The problem was, Gemini would follow through. Even if it meant killing, say, that boy Ira who Rikka seemed to like. Or one of the Jikochuu's monsters. Or King Jikochuu.

That idea suddenly seemed frightening, that there was literally nothing she couldn't see happening. The Jikochuu crisis just...gone, Regina at her side, they'd all be happy and friends again.

"...I'll...have to think about that." Mana finally conceded. She couldn't just say 'no' after all.

Gemini winced. "Right...okay." She started to glance out the window again.

Mana grabbed her by the hand. "I'm sure Regina's missing you. But you're gonna need to warm up first." Gemini blushed profusely, and a moment later so did Mana. "Cocoa! I meant cocoa! In the kitchen, Sebastian can whip some up for us!"

"...right. Nice hot cocoa and nothing else!"

Neither girl could get out of there and where somebody could see them fast enough.

Regina was without anything to do from her perspective. The novelty of having new video games had worn off, and thus she was staring out at the night sky through the balcony, the stars obscured by the city lights in the distance.

She was about to turn around and try that computer in the corner when she heard a knock on the door, then heard it open and shut behind her. She kept staring up at the sky, even when Rikka came out to lean on the balcony next to her. For several minutes they just stood there, staring upwards together, before Regina finally spoke. When she did, she tried to keep her tone neutral. "You don't approve."

"The plan? I'm sorry, but..."

Regina looked over at her, eyes slightly widening in surprise. "I didn't mean that at all. I know the plan's completely insane. Believe me, if you've got something better, we're going right down to Gemini to talk about it and I'll smack some sense into her myself if she won't talk to you."

Rikka swallowed a bit. "Well, that's good. With everyone there I'm sure we can come up with something."

Regina chuckled. "I really do hope so."

"So what did you think I was talking about?"

Regina shrugged. "I'd thought it was obvious,"

"Oh," Rikka turned back to the stars. "That. Yeah, I was a bit surprised, is all."

Regina sighed. "No, that's not all. Look, yes, I love Gemini. That's the first thing."

"I wasn't saying you - "

Regina sighed again. "Diamond, you were. Is it...quite the same thing? I guess, probably not. I'm not human, even though I look it. My whole mindset's off, and living with humans has been a huge culture shock. I_ still_ have to keep a collection of shiny jewelry in my locker to coo over, sometimes for hours, because they're_ mine._"

Rikka swallowed. "That's...more than I really needed to know..."

"You want to rescue your Regina, and maybe get along with her?" The blonde turned towards Rikka, looking serious. When Rikka nodded, she continued with "Then no, it's not more than you needed to know. I'll go over this with Mana too, but it's important. Gemini is mine, and so is the world I left, and this one too. They're_ mine_, and I'll keep them safe and work hard to make them better because of it."

Rikka stared at Regina as if seeing her for the first time in either form. "I...think I finally get it."

Regina shrugged. "Good. Now then, as for Gemini...yeah, okay, we share sleeping bags, when it's not Alice because I'm out. And no, we do_ not_ have anything going on with Alice before you ask. But it's not the reason you think..." Rikka inclined her head to indicate Regina should continue. "Look, this has to do with Cure Rune. Are you sure?"

Rikka was most definitely not sure, but she nodded her head again. "On your head be it then." Regina took a deep breath, and began to tell her story...

* * *

The spring night in Tokyo was unnaturally still, broken only by the sound of sirens throuhgout. The three Jikochuu generals, the old man Bel, the woman Mamo, and Ira, a kid who looked about their own age.

On the other side was a blockade of soldiers. Armored trucks, men with guns, lights to blind anyone hapless enough to be in front. But that wasn't what had terrified Heart and Rosetta.

No, that was the new Precure standing calmly in front of the barricades. She was dressed in black leather shorts with a skin-tight, dark blue leotard. Her decorations were remarkably simple for a Cure, with a pair of golden bracers being the only stand-outs. A headband held long midnight-blue hair in check. Leather calf boots with a low heel completed the outfit.

But Regina could still recognize the face that sent her friends into shock. And worse, Raquel was nowhere to be found. She wasn't fond of the faeries that buzzed around her Mana, but she tolerated them. Still, seeing no one else was going to break the silence, she stepped up. "So, Cure Diamond. Guess we know who's_ really_ Mana's friend now."

"Yes. We do." The newly-minted Precure said. "I am the wisdom of the ages. Cure Rune."

"...Rikka...why?" Heart swallowed. "We had it under control…"

Rune snarled back. "Under_ control_? This_ youkai_ has you eating out of her hand...or maybe something els - " Rosetta gasped in shock at the implied innuendo.

Regina, on the other hand, just looked puzzled. "What's that?"

"Not now," Heart said scoldingly, before turning back to look at Rune. "Rikka, I can't accept that you did this. Regina_ is_ my friend. I can't let these people have her."

"Mana,_ please_," Rune's tone turned plaintive, almost whining. "She's just a youkai, an evil faerie. Even if she thinks she's your friend she doesn't understand what that means."

Regina_ almost_ protested, but then shrugged. "You're probably right. But I'm willing to learn. For Mana's sake I'll do anything to not hurt her. You can't seem to say the same. Oh well. You're still a Precure. Bel? Why don't you three take care of this."

Bel took the lollipop out of his mouth with a loud popping noise. "I'm sorry, sounds like you just tried to give me an order. But when your father hears about this, well, he'll probably just be glad there's less Precure and won't mind losing one treacherous daughter. We're just hanging around to make sure no one runs away."

"Feh," Regina smirked. "I'll remember this, Bel. Fine, just wait right there and I'll get to you."

Ira caught the look on Regina's face, even from that long distance. "Oy, you sure that was a good idea?"

"This is the best chance we've had to get her out of our hair." Bel's reply was simple and to the point.

Rosetta stood in front of Regina suddenly. "I'm sorry, Miss Rune," Rune gasped at the formality and coldness of her - now former - friend. "If you want to do your duty to your new masters, you'll have to kill me."

Rune looked down. "So be it…" She held out her hands, and power gathered between them. "Crystal Seal!"

Suddenly the street was bathed in ice shards, each seeming to turn to liquid on impact with something before re-freezing. Regina vanished, only to appear in the air high above. Rosetta countered with a cry of "Rosetta Wall!" and turned the ice into an additional shield against further attacks.

But it was a ruse, as Rune was behind the team in a split second after the attack had seemed to end. Her hands extended...and Sharuru and Lance screamed in sudden pain before going completely inert, returning to their faerie forms.

Mana's eyes widened in terror while a red dot appeared on her chest….

Regina took a deep breath. "I'd...rather not talk about the rest. We barely got out alive, but Rune...took them. The point is, that was the first night in Hokkaido. We have a nice, cozy little cave system set up out there now, but that night it was just a firepit, sleeping bags, and some preserved food, and a few sweet potatoes."

Rikka was unconsciously leaning forward now, but Regina was lost in her own world. "I didn't eat that night. Mana was just...completely out of it. It took us hours to coax her into her sleeping bag, and we all went to sleep afterwards. I woke up...guess maybe about three in the morning? At any rate, Mana was...gone. And when I found her, she was...at the edge of the cliff."

Rikka paled. "Oh my god."

"After that...the next night I shared her sleeping bag, and she cried herself to sleep on my shoulder. But she didn't get up again, and ever since I've been there, every night. And when I couldn't be...well, you know. I'm_ scared_ Rikka. I'm scared that one night she'll finish what Rune started."

Rikka blinked back tears. "I'm...I'm so sorry."

"Don't be." Regina closed her purple eyes. "After that night my eyes turned this color. I think...maybe I put a little of myself in her, and she put a little of herself in me. Or maybe not, never really paid attention to the mystic stuff. The point is, I love Mana, I hate what Rune put her through...but I've already accepted that you are_ not Rune._ We don't know what happened to get her to choose to do what she did, but just knowing that you could do it if you're not careful...now you'll know to be careful, right?"

"Right." Rikka smiled grimly back. "I would never do anything to hurt Mana on purpose, but now I know just how badly I might do it by accident."

"Good. Lesson learned." Regina grinned. "Class dismissed, unless you're planning on sharing the bed. It's big enough for three, Alice has an awesome place!"

Rikka found herself laughing despite herself. "You really are Regina."

"Darn tootin'!" Regina grinned and skipped her way over to the bed. "And look...don't worry about Gemini. It's just going to take time, all right?"

"Tell her...tell her I don't blame her." Rikka said back. "If she wants to hate me for...that...it's not fair but I can take it now."

"She won't. She's still the Mana you love."


	4. Chapter 4

Things started early the next morning.

Phone calls were made. Appointments canceled, work notified of a rare need to use sick leave, and families notified of sleepovers at each other's houses that would never materialize. Around the country, girls disappeared from their normal lives. If anyone thought it unusual, it was only because it was "that close-knit group" who always hung out together, a discrepancy easily explained by sharing food from the same restaurant.

The first to arrive at the Yotsuba mansion was Cure Happy, arriving from a bookshelf at the top of the meeting room. One moment, there was nothing going on, then the bookshelf glowed with a light not unlike the sun, and then another pink-clad Cure stepped out and was there.

Gemini bowed. "Pleased to meet you. I understand your team will be bringing many of the others here today."

"That's right," Happy grinned, allowing her transformation to fade and becoming Hoshizora Miyuki. "Pleased to meet you. Please, call me - "

"..Miyuki." Gemini suddenly looked pale, as if she had seen a ghost. "R..right."

Miyuki tilted her head curiously. "..is something wrong?"

"No...nothing you can do anything about. Tell me, is Yayoi with your group?"

"Yeah. So, you're from a magical land beyond the mirror where everything's the same but evil or something? But then how did you get to be good?" Miyuki leaned in with a grin.

Gemini shook her head. "It's...not exactly like that. I'll have to let Regina know…" She sighed. "I'd rather explain all this again at the briefing, but I have one other question for you."

"Uh-huh. Sure, what is it?" Miyuki's smile would have been infectous, but Gemini just sighed.

"...Do you still have the Cure Decor, and did you bring them with you? We're going to need all of them."

Miyuki jumped. "Uhm, I can go get them...what do you need them for?"

"We're going to need to be able to move quickly, and the Decor should work on both sides." Gemini explained carefully. "I know how they work, and we'll have a few days to teach everyone."

Miyuki thought about it for a second. "Sure. I'll grab them when I go through."

"Excellent. I look forward to working with you, Cure Happy."

"Miyuki."

"Right."

* * *

Alice sipped her tea in the sitting room. It was a sign of just how nervous the normally collected girl was that she was tapping her fingers on her knee. The rest of the team wasn't doing much better - Mana running about the place trying to remember if she forgot anything, Rikka leaning against the wall, and Makoto and Davie fielding phone calls over the engagements canceled.

There was a cough at the door, and a woman with only a very slight hunch in her back and some serious wrinkles to betray her age stepped into the room. "Well, now, what interesting young children."

"How did YOU get in here?" Makoto snapped. "Wait, never mind. You're obviously not supposed to be here today..."

"Relax, child. My name is Hanasaki Kaoruko, or Cure Flower." She gave a respectful bow. "And I just wanted to meet the girls who had enough guts, or maybe sense, to break down and be the first to bring everyone together on their own."

Makoto winced. "I'm - I'm deeply sorry ma'am. I had no idea there were senior Precure on this world."

"It's not common knowledge," the woman conceded. "It used to be much rarer. I had actually kind of hoped I wouldn't see another in my lifetime. Still...let me get a good look at you."

Mana swallowed. "It's not like this is the first time we've all fought together."

"Yes, the last few years have been very interesting. Fusion, Shadow...the threats are getting bigger," Grandma Hanasaki narrowed her eyes. "But those came up and brought everyone together. You're saying you found something. Are you sure you can't deal with it on your own? I mean really sure?"

Alice put her tea down slowly and gave the old woman a look with narrowed eyes and pursed lips. "First of all, we weren't the ones who requested this meeting. Secondly, while I respect your experience, ma'am, we want everyone to hear this and everyone to have their say. That will include you, if you want to attend the meeting."

The old woman smiled. "Good. My partner and I will be there. I just wanted you to understand me. There have been Precures on this world for a very long time. I knew the original Cure Black and Cure White, fifty years ago. We even fought some evil together, now and again. But the past ten years have been….hectic. There's more magic than ever before, and now we're having_ meetings_. Just be sure that you're not just asking for help because the going got a little tough."

"What's wrong with asking for help if you need it?" Rikka walked towards the old woman, only to have Mana put a hand on her shoulder.

"Need? Nothing at all. But if you don't need it...well, there's good reason everyone tries to keep to themselves in this line of work. If we escalate, there's a chance the next evil power will find out and escalate more." Grandma Hanasaki turned and walked out of the room. "Oh, and would you be a dear and tell me where I can hang my coat?"

Alice couldn't help but smile. "Sebastian should be outside the meeting room you came from, he can help you."

"Ah, yes, such a charming young man." And the old woman left the four Cures very confused.

* * *

Makoto found herself staring in silent wonder. The room was filled with the sounds of laughter and joking, between old friends and new. There were scientists talking with up-and-coming athletes on the Olympic circuits. Artists, martial and traditional, joking about old times. Off in one corner a woman who Makoto had been told was a schoolteacher was sharing something alcoholic with an idol that Makoto had been asked to do a joint concert with. She'd turned down the offer because the other girl's career was obviously near the end and it could have hurt her chances. The agent had been persistent, but ultimately relented.

Makoto wondered if the real point of that had been for Cure Lemonade to introduce herself, maybe offer help. Because, if Makoto were to be honest with herself, at the time she would be forced to admit she wouldn't have thought of the possibility of this world's Precure actually wanting to lend a hand.

She was an idiot.

The faeries, at least those who couldn't or didn't want to assume human form, had mostly congregated in their own separate party area set up from cat toys. The rest, plus a rather familiar looking stuffed lion-thing wearing a hakama, wandered among the human guests having their conversations.

Sebstian leaned down into her ear. "M'lady said that you wished to call the meeting. Everyone has arrived."

Makoto winced. Everyone present looked happy. Like this was just another party. That incident earlier in the year with Shadow hadn't let her get a close-up look with these people, but now it was obvious that they treasured these times, not just with their own teams, but each other.

If only Gemini had come out to join them, but instead she was in the room, drinking down yet another sugar-laden espresso drink from the kitchens and finalizing her notes.

At least she had agreed to give everyone a few days after the meeting to get their lives in order before they actually did anything. This was just to decide on a plan. Maybe once they had one, she'd be able to loosen up.

Makoto sighed and raised her hands, clapping them together. "Everyone? May I have your attention?"

"Aww, can't we have another five minutes?" Someone asked. A few others echoted the sentiment with various plaintiveness.

Makoto shook her head at the first one. "Nozomi, wasn't it? I know it's been awhile since we've been together socially, but our guest is somewhat impatient. I'm told there'll be dinner and snacks for everyone afterwards, and bedrooms have been made up as well. We're prepared to go late into the night, so."

"Business first," A woman in a black suit with a pair of sunglasses propped up on her head said firmly. She brushed her rose earrings, and incongruously messy hair aside. "Besides, I'm curious to meet this 'Cure Gemini.'"

There were various nods of assent, and Mikoto waited a moment for the chatter to die down again. "All right. If you'll follow me then. Seats have been assigned by your teams. I've also been told to ask you to remember that the system for voting is hard-wired so that it can't be reset unless the entire system is reset - when it's time to cast your vote, you can't change your mind once you push the button."

Slowly the room began to fill, as everyone separated into the groups they had come in with and took their seats. Makoto couldn't help but notice Doctor Hanasaki from before whisper something into what must have been her granddaughter's ear, and abruptly realized. _Cure Blossom...so that must be Marine next to her._ Her eyes moved on, counting over forty human-forms, and more faeries than she could track.

She was definitely an idiot. But then, they wouldn't have all helped, probably. Doctor Hanasaki's words were plain - this could only be about an emergency.

And Gemini was definitely an emergency.

Alice bowed to the crowd as soon as everyone was seated. "Thank you for coming, everyone. Miyuki, did your friends get everyone up to speed?"

"Yep! Evil mirror clones and something about an invasion from the other side of the mirror." Miyuki grinned, only for Rikka, another blue-haired girl, to stand up to speak.

"While I suppose we can't speak for those groups Miyuki retrieved," she said with no hint of the exasperation she must be feeling, voice formal and precise, "The rest of us conveyed your message in full."

Alice's calm expression didn't change. "Then I'll allow Cure Gemini to give you the specifics."

Gemini, her hair successfully combed out into something straight and presentable but still dressed in the bargain bin outfit she had managed to acquire, took center stage. "Alice...everyone...thank you." She took a breath. "I wish circumstances could be better. But please, make no mistake. The YTF sees the existence of your world as a threat, and seems to have no intention of simply allowing you to ignore them. We strike them first, or they will strike you first."

"How can you be so sure?" One young woman, with straight black hair, blue eyes, wearing much the same business attire as her partner who had spoken up in the room asked. "Why would they bother with a world that doesn't mean to attack them?"

"Paranoia," Gemini responded simply. "You don't have what they see as a strong defense against faeries, so the fact that the two worlds can reach each other is reason enough." The room was dead silent for a moment. "If I may continue, then?

"The Youkai Task Force is an intelligence and pseudo-military agency of the Japanese Empire of our world, responsible for the observation, control, destruction, and ultimately implementation of all of the world's magic. They have operational authority over police, fire, rescue, and military services. In addition, there are recent international agreements that heavily restrict travel to and from the Empire.

"But despite that, trade is booming. The YTF has managed to attract heavy investment with the promises of practical implementations of magic-based technology, and since_ so far_ no faerie has been shown to be able to use internet telepresence to escape the quarantine, international business is pretty much unaffected."

Regina couldn't resist adding commentary here. "Basically, as long as you're not a teenage girl aged eight to eighteen and you're willing to accept that you might turn into a monster at any time at all, Japan's a great place to live if you want to make a fortune these days."

Gemini sighed. "Right. The basic consequence of this for you is that the average person on the street will be the enemy. They will see you as agents of the Youkai, no different from a Jikochuu, Akanbe, or anything else the bad guys might be dreaming up these days."

The screen came to life behind her, showing a picture of a black silhouette wearing a relatively simple white blouse, miniskirt, and bicycle shorts. Their heads were covered in a simple mask. "Girls like this will be the primary opposition on the other side. They're called 'Artificial Precure' and don't have individual titles. Their performance in all aspects is peak human- they can run a mile in about four minutes, bench press about a quarter of a ton, and before they enter the field they're required to hold a dan ranking in at least one martial art."

The image split into four near-identical images, one white, one red, one blue, and one green. "In addition, they each have one limited magical power. Force, fire, ice, or enhanced physical capabilities - the greens can each handle about fifty percent higher numbers on each of the categories above. There may be others as well, but if there are they're not common."

"Cure Bloom. Cure Egret. Cure Dream. Cure Peace. Cure Blossom. Cure Marine." Gemini looked extremely nervous now. "Your alternates are the most powerful agents the Youkai Task Force deploys on a regular basis. There's no artifical process with your counterparts - they turned and either kept, or enhanced their powers. Your partners work with them willingly, where that applies." More pictures appeared on the screen, and the named Cures gasped as their counterparts were seen.

Bloom and Egret, hunched over a map with a picture of a traditional Japanese-style mansion. Next to that another, both standing with their backs to the same mansion in flames.

Cure Dream, clearly laughing in childish delight, surrounded by a crowd of people laying on the ground around her. In the background, one woman was holding a child in her embrace and crying.

Cure Peace, polishing the metal plates on something that, until then, everyone had believed only existed in science fiction. It was ten feet tall, and roughly humanoid in shape. The arms and legs sported thick, heavy-looking metal plates at sharp angles to deflect fire. The whole thing was various shades of yellow, leading to comments that it couldn't be the gold robot that it looked like. There was barely room inside for the pilot, and then only if she were about the size of the four foot tall girl rubbing a cloth over the leg. It would almost be a joke, and Yayoi, the blonde girl in the picture, almost grinned at her counterpart...until she realized there was a deadly-serious minigun mounted on each shoulder and a pair of rails along each arm.

Cure Blossom, sobbing while being embraced by Cure Marine in front of the body of a man. There was a clean hole in his chest, simple inky blackness, in the shape of a heart. He was pale, unmoving, and clearly dead.

"Believe me, I didn't want to have to show these people to you." Gemini let some bitterness creep into her voice even as the named individuals, and most of their friends, went pale. "But these are the YTF's most deadly, dedicated, and dangerous weapons, and when they realize what we're coming to do, we will be facing_ all_ of them trying to stop us."

"Finally, there's something new. The YTF has found a way to take an existing Precure and cut her off from her partner, then replace the power source." Rikka gasped as a picture of herself appeared, wearing something that looked rather like her standard Cure Diamond outfit as re-imagined by the tailors who design those leather outfits she was rather sure she wasn't supposed to know existed. "You'll probably note a theme in the costume design, yes," Gemini said dryly. "We don't know a lot about the process, only that they're more closely related to Artificials than to you girls. They lose a bit of power in the process, but not much. This is Cure Rune."

Rikka stopped, and took a closer look at the photographs. Each one was definitely of herself, but the looks on her own face were both sad and twisted into anger. Tokyo streets, turned to battlefields and covered in ice.

"As for the others, I'll only discuss two of them right now, since they're the only ones relevant to the parts of the plan we'll actually be voting on. It's…" Gemini frowned, obviously trying to find the right words.

The woman in the severe business attire spoke up. "Operational security. If we fail to contain them, you're afraid they'll interrogate someone and find out what we're going to do."

"Thank you Ma'am." Gemini bowed gratefully, head nearly impacting the podium. A few moments later, the images changed to several other suits of the powered armor seen with Cure Peace earlier. "The first of the two is Kise Yayoi. No offense to you, Miss Kise, but your counterpart was something of a disaster in the first half of last year. I'm sure you're just fine."

The girl shook her head. "No, I wasn't useless, but I'm not really the best person for this…"

"Well, okay," Gemini shrugged. "But the thing is, she was put in charge of a squad, the way most true Precure are, and nearly got them all killed when she was startled and ran. It looked like they'd probably just take her powering artifact away from her and send her home, but one of the scientists noticed that she was a fan of those tokusatsu shows," Gemini sniffed in the manner of someone trying to deride when their heart isn't really in it. "Biggest pain in the ass for me they've come up with."

"See, they examined her more closely and realized that, when she's transformed her body's surrounded by electromagnetic radiation. That suit takes it and does_ SCIENCE_ and turns it into power for the artificial muscles. So now, Cure Peace goes into battle as the first viable power-armored soldier in the history of warfare."

Yayoi grinned. "Well, I think that's cool. Do you think I can get one?"

Gemini looked startled for a moment, then returned the grin with a feral one of her own. "Consider it done, Miss Kise."

"Awesome!" Yayoi jumped up on her feet and rocked back and forth for a moment, then blushed furiously when she sat back down.

Gemini chuckled. "Well, that'll make the last parts easier. Anyway, usually Cure Peace is deployed with her armor in cases of mass faerie incursion, when everyone's given up pretending we care about the collateral damage." Somehow, she missed the various mutters and looks of alarm while she continued. "In addition to the miniguns, Peace can still use her magical lightning, both as a sphere on its' own, and to charge and fire the two railguns mounted in the armor's arms. In short, she can wreak a massive amount of devastation in a very short time. This is why I think she'll be first through the portal."

"Well then how are we supposed to handle that?" Someone called out from near the back. "Why not just leave the portal shut?"

Gemini sighed. "Because if we don't open it, they will. At least this way we can pick the timing. Any other objections?" While there were some mutters, no one else voiced dissent. "Now, she's not invincible. So, what I propose is this. Regina here will open the portal, with Cures who have access to elemental attacks stationed in a semi-circle around it. Regina teleports out of the way, and the second you see_ anything_, open fire with everything you've got. With luck, that will take care of her armor. Peace doesn't like to stay in the fight when her armor's been disabled, so she'll probably use the quick-eject to get out and run back."

Gemini glanced up at the room from her notes, and nodded to Regina as everyone still seemed to be paying attention. "Once Peace retreats, they'll probably send through Artificials. Our best estimate is that there are about two hundred and fifty or so, but most are going to be needed for Jikochuu attacks on Tokyo, so I'd guess no more than fifty of them will come through. Since Peace will probably babble what sent her packing, expect them to be armed with firearms.

"The counter is reasonable. Every one of us is going to be stronger and faster than they are, so before Peace can get through the portal, every one of us with melee experience will move in close and take out the Artificials as they come through. Don't let them get into cover, and the guns will be useless.

"After that, we'll move everyone but the defenders through the portal. Regina will close it from there, and we'll secure the portal facility. We can't let one person in the facility get away, or it'll get harder from there…."

Gemini took a deep breath to go on, but suddenly a hand landed on her shoulder. She looked back to see Mana's hand on her shoulder, and her head shaking. "Gemini. We've heard enough."

Makoto's jaw dropped as Regina stood up and shouted "You promised you'd hear us out!"

Mana shook her head. "I know, but there's nothing you can say that would make your case better. You're not asking us to fight a threat, you want us to go into a war. Most of the people here are busy. They have their own lives. You've said what needed saying. Please, don't waste more of their time unless they agree with this plan."

Gemini's jaw dropped open slightly. "...I don't have anything else. I've thought of everything...this is the best way…"

Mana gently pulled the two back to their seats. "I know...and I'm sorry."

"It's for your world too!" Regina tried, but her voice started to die out at the last word as Alice stood up again.

The rich girl gave Regina a sad smile before turning to the podium herself. "Very well….are there any questions?" No one said anything. "All right, begin casting your votes."

The room was filled with a low muttering sound, teams conferring among themselves. Immediately two votes for 'Yes' popped up on the screen, and a few moments later a few more appeared, Gemini smiling and giving Mana a rather reproachful look.

...then the first vote for 'no.' Followed quickly by five more. Shortly after, two for 'yes' appeared, and then two for 'no.' Mana sighed, and quickly pressed a button, an "abstain" popping up on the screen. Rikka actually glared at Mana before pushing her own button for 'yes'.

After that, the pattern was established. A few votes for 'yes' would come up as each team finished their own internal deliberations, but they would always be outvoted. Within five minutes, half the remaining Precure had made their decisions, and the 'no' had already passed the 50% mark. Alice glanced at the screen. "Please finish voting quickly, we still need to de - " Her voice died on seeing Gemini had already stood up and was walking up the stairs, her head hanging down almost as if the visitor needed to pay close attention to where she was going or she would stumble on a stair. "Gemini?"

She didn't look back over her shoulder. "I'm sorry. I tried." she suddenly shouted, sprinting for the back of the room and the bookshelves. "One!" A book was quickly slid aside to the left.

Miyuki stood up. "She's got a Decor! Gemini, where are you going?!"

"Two!" Gemini ignored her, sliding another book to the right.

"_MANA!_" Regina screamed, toppling over her chair as she scrambled out of her chair, the Mana of this universe following only a quarter second behind. Everyone else was slower to comprehend what was going on, only barely starting to get up when...

"Three." Gemini opened a space between two of the books on the highest shelf, and vanished.

The room erupted into confusion.

Mana quickly turned to Regina. "Has she ever done anything like this before?"

"...only...only...please,_ please._ Mana, help her!" Regina started gasping for breath. "I don't know what to do!"

"Regina, calm down. Miyuki! You know how that works, right?" Mana snapped out suddenly. "Where can she go?"

Miyuki paled. "She...she could be anywhere."

Mana started to pace. "Not good. Aren't there_ any_ limits?"

"There need to be books." Miyuki stammered out, only managing to be intelligible around her own teeth with great effort. "And if you lack focus you won't necessarily come out where you want to."

"...books…" Mana looked at Regina. "Regina, focus! Has she done anything like this before?"

The blonde was pale, her eyes starting to turn blue. "...she...I...yes…"

Rikka said, quietly "She was going to jump off a cliff."

Mana swallowed, but now wasn't the time to be uncomfortable about her own feelings on that. "Jump. She said she wanted to see her own death." She relaxed very slightly. "We've got time. She's gone to a building, a tall building."

"Maybe the Empire State building?" Miyuki tried. "I know they've got a place where you can stand and look out."

Mana shook her head. "No...I don't think that's it…" She paused. "We do have a minute, though. She's not going to take a risk she won't go to the right place, which means she'll go to the bookshelf she knows of_ closest_ to where she's going."

Rikka stood up. "Mana, how do you_ know_ that?"

"Because it's what I'd do if I wanted to make a point." Mana's voice was very quiet. "...but…" Her eyes widened. "Alice! Call Clover Tower. They know what I look like, right?"

"...y-yes!" Alice jumped, brought out of her own efforts to figure out the problem. "But.."

"Good. Tell them...no, don't tell them to stop anyone who looks like me, she could get violent," Mana suddenly decided. "Tell them to shut off the elevator. Regina, you're going to need to teleport me to the observation deck." The Jikochuu princess nodded. "Alice, call and get a security guard to send us a picture of your father's office. If_ anyone_ can think of anything to say to her, have Miyuki or one of the others take you there." She wrapped her arms around Regina, who got a rather goofy expression on her face for a moment before Mana whispered to her "Focus, Regina. I'm not your love."

"...right." Regina nodded, turning serious. "I know the place. Please, Mana….save Gemini."

"I'll do everything I can."

They vanished.

* * *

Gemini opened the door to the roof, one floor above the observation deck. It wasn't quite where everything had started, but it would be close enough. No records, and Aida Mana was plainly still alive, whatever the records might show about her body. In a few years, she'd be an entry in one of those "weird documentaries" alongside spontaneous human combustion, if this world lived that long.

That was okay. Everyone really wanted that, even if it wasn't what was best.

Then she looked up, and standing across the roof was "...Cure Heart." Blonde, just like Cure Gemini, her hair done up in the same style, but with a skirt and much less armor. "Did Regina bring you here? Where is she?"

Heart was smiling warmly. "I asked her to wait down on the observation deck. I thought we could talk for a few minutes while we're alone again."

"Sure you just want to talk, traitor? My Commune still has a charge left from the fight yesterday," Gemini managed to keep the hostility out of her voice. "Showing up like that, you seem to be looking for one."

Heart gave a short nod. "If giving me what you think I deserve will make you feel better. I would prefer to live through it, so I decided to bring Sharuru for that part."

Gemini's fingers tightened around her sword for a moment, then sighed. "What's the use? Even if I went back now, you stopped me and made me look like an idiot. They're not going to take me seriously now."

"I stopped you because you were starting to sound like an extremist nutcase," Heart explained patiently. "If I'd let you say anything more you'd be going on about riding gloriously into the fight and dying for the world. That's not what Precure do and you know it."

Gemini barked out a short laugh. "Oh, that's cute. Was I ever really this naive?"

"You tell me. We're the same person."

Gemini stopped short, thinking about it for a moment. "Yeah, I was pretty close. A lot of people paid for that. I don't know what went wrong, but the Youkai Task Force isn't going to play by your silly children's rules. You have to know that."

"I know." Heart's voice was grim. "Some of us could well be killed on any reasonable plan. But that's not a good excuse to lead most of us to our deaths on purpose. This world still needs Precure too."

Gemini stopped, then sighed. "Okay, so is this mostly about you and yours? I didn't think there'd be that many in the room, I suppose I don't really need you, and you're the best suited for fighting King Jiko - "

"THAT ISN'T IT!" Heart snapped. "Why_ this_ plan? Why won't you_ listen?_"

"Because I've considered everything else!" Gemini shouted back. "I tried to save my world too -"

"WHAT?!" Heart's jaw dropped open. "...you mean…"

"...this was all I could come up with. They won't stop. There's only one way to make them," Gemini fell to her knees. "I...I can't…."

"That's why you turned to us. You needed a distraction." Heart said with a tone of dawning realization. "What were you going to do?" Gemini just turned her head. "Gemini...what was your plan?"

"I wasn't completely sure," Gemini said. "I needed to get inside the YTF's headquarters. From there I could do the wiring and Sebastian's contacts could open the system up and figure out who knew about the portal technology. After that...well, I'd tell you that we had everything, sent you home and destroyed the place they built the first one. It might take awhile, but...I'd stop them from coming back the hard way."

Heart shook her head. "They'd just find someone else. You can't stop it from being_ possible_."

"I could try...but now it's meaningless. Especially now." She stood up, slowly. "Please, don't tell Regina. And take care of her."

"I refuse," Heart said. "Because you're going to be there for her yourself."

"Please, Mana," Gemini's voice turned to pleading. "I don't want to hurt you, but I can't see the world fall apart. Not_ again_."

Heart sighed. "Aida Mana, I_ never_ give up on helping people, and neither should you. Your plan wasn't_ wrong_ but we need to work on the details. And this time we'll figure out how to solve the_ problem._ Not just buy time."

"What?"

Cure Heart beamed at her double. "The truth of the matter is, we don't need to stop the scientists in their labs. What we need to do is stop the YTF. Not just a building, or a few idiot politicians. We need to expose everything they're doing for what it is. _Wrong_. If we can get inside, we can get all the details and put them out there, then they'll have no choice but to stop being so cruel."

"...do...do you really think that'll work?" Gemini's eyes widened slightly, shimmering in tears. "People have tried that before, and they just disappeared."

"Hey, I'm the Student Council President. I can do anything!" Heart grinned jokingly.

Gemini wiped a tear from her eye. "Don't...don't do that. Please, Mana...I need to know that you're not just trying to give me hope again."

"I don't have a plan, if that's what you're asking," Mana said slowly. "But the plan is locked up in your head."

Gemini paused for a moment, and shook her head. "It...it really is impossible. I've thought about that before, but it's just too well guarded. You need too big a force to crack the defenses on the place just to force enough of an opening…"

"Maybe." Heart walked over and put a hand on her shoulder. "But you got through that portal, and we're going to go back. Gemini….are you sure you've talked to everyone who can help you on the other side?"

Gemini's eyes widened even further in wonder. "You….do you have any idea how much you'd be risking? For yourself_ and_ anyone who got out?"

"No, but the YTF's about to get your world destroyed. Or don't you think Jikochuu will take advantage while they're busy with us?"

Gemini stopped, sniffled once, but then closed her eyes. Heart wrapped an arm around her, waiting for her to finish thinking. "All right. I know some people who might be able to help with that. But it will take time once we're through, and we're still going to need ten people or so for the YTF headquarters itself. It will still be dangerous…"

"...but our world won't be unprotected, and it will be_ less_ dangerous." Heart agreed. "Is there any guarantee we can come back?"

"No." Gemini admitted. "We won't be able to stay in the portal building. That thing takes a_ lot_ of power….but there might be a prototype in the main HQ. It will be unpowered, but Sebastian can probably get it working if we bring him."

Heart smiled. "So plan on a one-way trip."

"Of course not," Gemini grinned. "Who do you think you're talking to? I've got the portal schematics on that flash drive. If we have to, we'll build another one later."

Heart practically bounced. "Perfect. Now, are you ready to stop being silly and get off this roof?"

"No." Gemini's voice echoed with far too many crushing losses. "...but I'll go anyway."

"Good. Regina?" Gemini's eyes widened as Mana called out, and suddenly the two girls found themselves in a group hug with a certain royal girl.

"Oh thank god. Mana...Mana….Please, please, stop doing these things!" Regina was crying openly on their shoulders. "I get so worried!"

Gemini choked back tears of her own. "Oh...Oh Regina….I…" She broke down, starting to cry as well. Sharuru appeared and did her best to join in, while Mana just held on to the both of them.

* * *

Rikka paced worriedly in front of the bookshelf. "Oh, she'll be the death of me one of these days," she fretted, hands carefully behind her back to avoid letting anyone see her shake. Alice tried to gently restrain her long-time friend with a hand on the shoulder, but Rikka brushed it off. "No, really. Why can't she leave stuff like this to the professionals?"

Alice, quite reasonably, tried again. "Gemini doesn't exist. That kind of help comes with checks, you know. Would you rather Mana be down as a suicidal person when it's time to apply for high school?"

"Dammit," Rikka restrained herself from hitting the wall, but it was a visible effort.

One which was suddenly cut off when she realized Alice had slipped between herself and the target. "Worried about your prince again?"

"You saw the state Gemini was in. One wrong move..." Rikka tried, but Alice interrupted again.

"...and we'd hear about it in two seconds, and be on the roof in thirty." Alice said firmly. "Mana was using her powers at the time, she'd last that long."

"I know."

"If you know," Alice said in her sternest voice "Then why aren't you trusting her?"

"I thought that was obvious." Rikka's voice went slightly dull.

Alice got so exasperated she actually raised her eyes slightly heavenward at that. "Gemini?"

"Mana figured out exactly what she'd do in_ seconds._"

Makoto looked between the pair with sudden confusion. "Wait, why is that a problem?"

Alice shook her head. "It isn't, really. It's what she would have done to think she had some idea what to do. It's been busy lately with Aguri's training and all, but usually Mana likes to spend an hour or two every day reading books on...well…"

"How to solve other people's problems," Rikka finished lamely. "I think it's her bedtime reading, she's busy the rest of the time."

"Wait, so you're saying you think Mana actually thought ahead to_ look up_ how to deal with someone wanting to jump off a tall building?" Makoto gave them a look of shock, but then shook her head with a small smile. "That_ is_ like her…"

Rikka blinked, staring for a moment before exploding. "WHY? Why would she do something like that?"

Alice suddenly squeezed Rikka's shoulder. "Because she doesn't just think of the little problems."

Rikka got a chill down her spine. "We're just kids, Alice. Mana shouldn't think like that."

Makoto shook her head. "Please speak for yourself. I'm enjoying school, but I'm a Precure first. Defending the Trump Kingdom is...well, was and will be, my life's work."

Alice nodded at that. "I really doubt Mana thought she'd have to actually do something like that, but you know full well she likes to have a plan for every contingency. And if she hasn't thought of something in advance, all that time thinking of them has made her_ really_ good at it, so she can usually manage something on the spot."

Makoto couldn't resist laughing. "Even if it was as hare-brained as forcing Bel to bring us home from the Trump Kingdom."

Rikka couldn't believe what she was hearing. "But...but...that was ridiculous. It would never have worked, it was just a fluke that we managed to find that shard of glass to bring us home."

"A bad plan 'now' is better than a good one 'after we needed it," Makoto pointed out.

A light flashed from the bookcase, interrupting Rikka's attempted response. Mana was carrying an unconscious Gemini in her arms, Regina riding on her back and looking sleepy and exhausted. "We're home." Mana said weakly.

Rikka refrained from tackling her friend in relief, but only because it looked like Mana might collapse if a feather dropped on her. "You've_ got_ to stop doing these things Mana. We really need to talk about this one…"

"Eheheh…" Mana chuckled uncomfortably as Regina slid off her back and wavered on her feet.

"Can we get to our bedroom?" Regina asked, eyes closing briefly, then opening again. "I guess we'll just skip the rest of the meeting."

Mana grinned. "And I need to talk with our actual soldier. Makopi?"

Makoto jumped in surprise. "What?"

"I kind of get what Gemini wanted to say, but I was never really interested in what people do in a warzone. I know you'd probably never been in battle before the Jikochuu attack, but you studied how, right?" Mana's question got a weak nod from Makoto. "That makes you the best we've got."

A fifth voice spoke up. "Not...exactly." It was the woman in the black suit from earlier. She smiled at the two of them. "I've got a little experience with planning this kind of thing."

Mana grinned. "Sure. Uhm...just so we're clear, who were you again? Back at the last party things got a little hectic."

"Misumi Nagisa, at your service." The woman, Nagisa, bowed low. "Oh, Sebastian, was it? Why don't we ask everyone to move back to the lounge? This could take awhile. And Miss Aida, maybe we should send the basic info to everyone's phones, I know a few of the girls who can probably make more sense of it."

Mana grinned and gave a salute. "Yes Ma'am!"

* * *

The party was somewhat more subdued than before, as the seriousness of things hit home. Even Kurumi Erika, the blue-haired fashionista who could breathe life into almost any party, was downing her third beverage from the punch bowl.

Tsubomi did a double-take, realizing that Erika was, in fact, drinking out of the punch bowl set aside for the adults. She was about to go over to scold the girl when a hand on her shoulder restrained her. She looked up to see the fiery-haired Hojo Hibiki shake her head. "You're the smart one, right? Check your cell, I'll go help restrain Erika."

Tsubomi brushed her darker hair out of her eyes, quickly opening up her phone to realize that an email has been dropped into it with a large document file. She quickly opened it up and started reading.

The physics were highly theoretical, and quite a bit beyond her, but she retreated to a corner to put on her glasses. There were extensive footnotes that helped, and within a few minutes she realized that what she was holding on her phone was the first steps in the idea of exploring Precure magic with science, all laid out with careful attention to detail. "Those two are telling the truth," she mumbled under her breath, chilled to the bone. "With this much already done, you could do…"

"...almost anything," a tall woman kneeled on the floor to look up into her eyes with shining blue ones. Tsubomi jumped back, to the woman's amused chuckle. "Yukishiro Honoka, at your service."

"Oh my! Doctor Yukishiro!? _The_ Doctor Yukishiro?" Tsubomi blushed and bowed deeply. "You're one of us?"

"Please, call me Honoka. After all, we're going to be working together very soon." Honoka grinned. "Although you'll still need a few years to catch up, from what I hear about your test scores you're a shoo-in for any school you want."

Tsubomi's jaw dropped. "Wait, what?"

Honoka found herself chuckling. "Your grandmother was right, you really are cute. And I said, I'm looking forward to working with you."

Tsubomi shook her head. "I'm not sure what you're talking about...even if I get into Tokyo university, I'm going to be studying botany."

Honoka's gentle smile didn't waver. "And I'll be needing a good botanist for my own projects very soon. Do you have any idea what you'll be doing your thesis on?"

Tsubomi blinked rapidly. "I'm still in high school. I'm not a prodigy like you professor. I won't be starting anything like that for years."

"Well, I might be able to help you with some ideas." Honoka chuckled. "But for right now..."

"For right now?" Tsubomi echoed faintly, momentarily overcome with a sense of doom before suddenly she found herself in the grip of a very affectionate blue octopus, with limbs everywhere. It took her a moment of struggling to realize that she had been mistaken, though. It was just Erika. "Erika! Lemmie go!"

"You're so cuuuute Tsubomi! I could just swallow you riiiight up!" Erika's grin was tinged with something Tsubomi found decidedly unwholesome, and she started to wiggle all the more. "Nuh-uh, you're not getting awaaaay!"

"Gack!" Tsubomi kept on trying to wiggle, but it seemed hopeless.

Honoka's soft chuckle brought them both up short. "Well, I don't think anyone here has any right to object, but you may want to get a room…"

"Professor, haaaaalllp!"

* * *

Mana rubbed her forehead in frustration, kicking her feet up on a table so she could angle her chair to look up at the projected screen on the wall.. "This is a lot harder than I thought. Gemini's less organized than I am."

Makoto flipped through a few pages on a tablet that Alice had helpfully provided. "Can't argue there. They must have been under a lot of stress when they threw this together. Are you sure you can't make sense of it?"

Mana turned around to face the others. "Maybe if I knew what I was looking for. Then I could at least try to follow the train of thought she's taking."

Nagisa sighed, tossing her own tablet down carelessly. "This is UNBELIEVABLE! She jumps from talking about patrol patterns to where you can stop to pick up ice cream to personal notes on various prominent personalities in the YTF. We need an actual analyst to figure out what might be important here."

Makoto shook her head. "It's almost like she's doing this on purpose. I'm going up to ask her."

"No!" Mana shouted. "She's exhausted, if we wake her up now…"

Nagisa rubbed the bridge of her nose in irritation. "You're both right. We either need Miss Gemini or we need a professional to sort out her thinking. But we can't afford to bother her while she's recovering. Maybe we should try another angle. What do we have?"

Mana thought, and picked up a tablet herself, quickly accessing a Precure rumor site. Makoto looked over her shoulder and raised an eyebrow in askance. "Well, at least these people have organized everything."

Nagisa laughed. "You know, all the times this has come up I never thought of that. Thanks." She quickly typed in the address for the site while Mana beamed. "All right, I think I've got this…I think we need someone from each group of us to go, based on that resonance stuff. That way whatever either group runs into we're ready for it. But for me and Honoka, and for Saki and Mai that won't work…"

"Well, we know Saki and Mai's counterparts are alive." Makoto said…

"Yeah, but they're also working for the enemy." Nagisa frowned, starting to concentrate. "Mana, did you run across any references to biometrics?"

Mana thought for a moment. "I think there were a few references to that stuff. That's where you use a handprint or an eye test to check who someone is, right?"

"I knew there was a reason I liked you, kid." Nagisa grinned broadly. "All right. I think I've got it. There's a lot of stuff on ex-Precure in Gemini's files, but it's useless so we'll just focus on getting you through today."

Makoto suddenly frowned. "What did you say you do for a living, Miss Misumi?"

Nagisa laughed. "Oh, I'm with the government."

Makoto's eyes narrowed. "What part of the government?"

"Eh, nothing important. I'm with a branch of the police."

"_Which_ branch?" Makoto asked, a little more insistently.

"Classified." Nagisa deadpanned. "Now, if you'll let me get back to the job…"

Makoto nodded ever so slightly, and while she listened as Nagisa began to outline her plan, she resolved to pay much closer attention to the older woman.

* * *

Gemini slowly opened her eyes, for a brief moment wondering if she had just been dreaming all of this and was just waking up at a sleepover at Alice's before the memories came rushing back, along with an awareness of the warmth of Regina next to her. She hugged her best friend more tightly, and smiled as she felt a pair of lips on her forehead.

But when she looked up, Regina's eyes were slightly redder than usual, and those lips were narrowed. "Mana…"

"I'm sorry, Regina. I...I wanted to tell you but the others…" Gemini tried to protest, but she was cut off with a single word that cut straight to her heart.

"Liar," When Gemini couldn't bring herself to deny it, Regina continued. "When_ were_ you going to tell me, love, that you planned to sacrifice our world to save this one?"

Gemini winced. "The others wanted to tell you after it was done. I….I don't know if I wanted to. I just wanted you to be safe, I thought maybe we could just leave you here…"

"So you were trying not to hurt me after all." Mana winced as Regina slid out of the bed. "You were crying a lot. Humans need water and salt after that, right? I'll go see if I can find something."

"Regina…" Gemini reached out of the bed.

"Gemini, I get it," Regina said softly. "But I need some time. Time to work out how to deal with what you told me...and what you didn't. That was_ my_ world you were going to throw away!"

"You want this world too, don't you?" Gemini asked. "I'm not sure you can have both."

"I can try. Please, don't wander off." Regina actually whimpered. "I'm mad, but I'm still scared."

"I promise, Regina. My love. I swear to you absolutely that I will not actively try to do that again." Gemini said softly. "Until we see what Mana can do, I will live, all right?"

"You broke that promise before." Gemini winced at Regina's accusation. "But I'll give you one last chance, because that's what friends do. Still, please, don't be gone when I get back."

"All right."

Regina walked out the door.

* * *

Mana stretched her arms over her head. "Miss Misumi, thanks. You sure it's all right asking everyone to stay an extra night?"

"I don't see why not," Nagisa's smile was bright enough that it could illuminate the hallway as she finally snapped the cover shut on her tablet. "Don't worry about it, it's summer vacation. You kids can have some fun, right?"

"I guess so," Makoto yawned. "It sounds like everyone else has gone to bed. I should head back to my apartment."

Mana chuckled. "What, when you've got a perfectly good bedroom here?"

Makoto started for a moment. "Yeah, what was I thinking? 'night you two."

"Night." Mana grinned. "Bright and early tomorrow?"

"How about noon today? It's well past midnight." Nagisa rubbed her eyes but still had that grin on her face. "You are crazy, you know that?"

"So I'm told!" Mana returned the infectious grin with one of her own. "But really, I'll be fine."

"If I know some of the others, they're probably gonna want to sleep in," Nagisa pointed out. "We'll explain the plan over lunch and get a vote."

"Okay." Mana sighed. "Good night," she turned down the hall, prompting Nagisa to frown.

"Where are you going? Isn't your room in the main wing, not the guest wing?"

Mana shrugged. "I just wanted to be sure no one was having any trouble sleeping before I went to bed myself."

"Good thinking. I'll let you handle that then, I've got to call in for tomorrow." Nagisa sighed. "Ah well, gotta love the federal service vacation package when Precuring comes up. Can't recommend it enough for someone like you."

Mana laughed. "No thanks, I've got dreams. I'll probably be your boss some day though!"

Nagisa laughed. "Well, we'll see. Good night, Miss Aida."

"Good night." Mana turned and started down the halls, taking care to walk carefully enough to make no sound. That was the only reason she caught it when a door opened behind her and someone walked out into the hallway. When she turned it was a girl, only a little older than Aguri, glancing around before catching her gaze. "Miss Aida, I want to talk to you." The girl's melodious voice sounded unsure of herself, but then the girl hardened. "I want to go to the other dimension with you."

Mana blinked. Sure, she'd expected bravery and no shortage of volunteers, but this girl...she wracked her brain. "I'm sorry, you'll need to remind me…"

"Shriabe Ako,"

"Ako...Ako…" Mana frowned, placing a hand on her chin in concentration. "I'm sorry, there are just so many names to remember, it's hard to keep track of everybody after only meeting you all once before...oh! I remember, you're with Hibiki's group."

"That's right. I can't just not defend my home, but Hibiki and Kanade won't let me go." Ako pleaded. "It's not just this world, they'll come after my kingdom too."

"Your kingdom?" Mana asked, not quite sure that she'd heard that correctly.

Ako covered her mouth in embarrassment, then nodded. "Yes, I'm from Major Land. The crown princess, in fact."

Mana looked sternly at her. "Then you're not going, and that's final. The other world isn't kind to people who aren't from Earth." Ako drew in a breath to protest, but Mana continued on. "I'm sure you're very good, but if things go wrong we'd have to spend more time protecting you than we could afford."

"You don't have to protect me!" Ako hissed. "I can do this without your babying!"

Mana shook her head sadly. "Ako, I can't tell you what they might do to you if they catch you. Most of the rest of us, we'll probably just be thrown in a cell...you'd be...a specimen." Ako paled at that. "I'm not trying to belittle your skills or your power. I think it's admirable that you'd risk your life like this. If you were from Earth, I'd consider your request. But it's not worth it. If you want to help, stay here in Tokyo on the defensive side, all right?"

"Agreed." Ako nodded, sounding formal. "As you wish, Miss Aida. I bow to your wisdom...and your respect. It's more than I was getting from my friends."

Mana chuckled softly. "It's all right, Ako. And please, call me Mana."

"Okay Mana. I'll see you in the morning"

Mana gave a thumbs-up and a wink. Ako returned to her bedroom, while Mana resumed her patrol.

* * *

Nagisa wiped some imaginary sweat from her brow. _Really, those kids are gonna walk all over me one day._ Although she couldn't wipe the grin off her face at the thought. _Still, Alice's family must be loaded. Why room us by group if..._ and Nagisa opened the door to what she had expected to be a single bedroom. _Oh. _It was not.

Instead what greeted her could have been described as an apartment, or maybe a hotel suite. With a couple of couches, its' own widescreen television, and three doors, one open to a bedroom and the other to a private bathroom, the entire area could easily have slept ten of them.

On top of that, there was even a computer set up in the corner. And Honoka was sitting at it, hard at work over some diagram that she barely recognized as being some kind of magic. "Honoka, we've talked about this."

"And I still disagree," Honoka responded easily. "But that's not what I'm doing. I was just looking over the data that Miss Gemini brought us. I think I can use it."

Nagisa's jaw dropped. "Honoka, you're a genius!"

"Thank you, but not this time. Gemini's hacker was_ very_ thorough." Honoka grinned at the compliment. "It's not complete, but there's only a little bit of the engineering missing, at least for a one-way portal to a known dimension, and we've got that already."

"Well, then, what are we waiting for?"

Honoka chuckled. "Well, that's what I've been working on. I've finished the design, but it'll take a_ lot_ of money to actually build. If you'd let me actually talk about this with the department at Toudai…"

"Absolutely not," Nagisa deadpanned. "Besides, we've got plenty of money at work."

"But then I couldn't publish!" Honoka turned around to look at her best friend. "They'd take everything and I couldn't even reveal it later!"

"Fine, fine." Nagisa sighed. "Are there any_ other_ problems?"

Honoka frowned. "I have to be honest. I don't know where we're going to get the electricity to power this thing. In fact, I'm not entirely sure where_ Japan_ would get the energy. We'd have to pipe in enough to light South Korea for a year as well for the startup procedure."

Nagisa blinked. "Wow. Science was never my strong suit, but that sounds like almost as much as you said our powers would need."

"Well, if they operated on any sort of rational principles of physics as we understand the subject that would be tru…" The physicist blinked a few times as her mind caught up. "Wait, Nagisa that's_ it!_" She spun around to start tapping out figures into her spreadsheet. "It's not purely efficient, of course, but a number of faeries could use the information on that mecha that Miss Kise's counterpart has." The numbers on the spreadsheet started to turn green. "Yes! Once the portal's open, we can run one off a generator for awhile, it's just the startup procedure."

Nagisa grinned. "I_ think_ I followed that. How quickly can you build it?"

"Six months." Honoka said bluntly. "Most of that would be building an appropriate lab and workshop."

Nagisa sighed. "I suppose I could make this a work problem after all."

"I'm sorry, Nagisa," Honoka shook her head. "Not even they have what we need. It's about building the tools to build the tools. This is why I wanted to work on this."

Nagisa sighed. "And I told you, we've been over it. If you work with the university it becomes public record. I think we just got a pretty good demonstration of where_ that_ line of thinking leads."

"I guess." Honoka tilted her head back. "Wait, it said here that their butler built most of the Precure magitech that Gemini uses." She grinned. "I think maybe I need to have a chat with Sebastian."

* * *

Mana didn't get very far from where she had chatted with Ako before she passed the "library", really just another sitting room with bookshelves put in the guest wing so guests wouldn't need to walk to the main wing. The door was shut, which was unusual, but even moreso was the lamp-light streaming underneath.

The soft giggling coming from the other side was a pretty good clue as well.

Mana sighed, and opened the door, somehow not surprised to see Yayoi curled up on a sofa with a stack of manga next to her up higher than her own head. A sizeable pile was laying, carefully stacked, on the end table as well. "Yayoi? Have you been here all night?" Mana's exasperated question startled the poor girl. With a yelp, she fell off the couch and into the larger stack, sending it into the endtable. Mana winced as manga went flying around the room. "...eheheh…." After a quick glance around to be sure no one had woken up, she closed the door behind her. "I'll help."

"It's okay, you don't have too." Yayoi blushed in embarassment. "It was my fault."

"It was_ our_ fault," Mana said simply. "We'll both clean it up. And while we do that, you tell me why you're staying up all night instead of getting rest."

"I'd rather not," Yayoi's voice was quiet. "It doesn't matter anyway. But . . . is it all right if I stay here?"

"I was kind of hoping you'd come." Mana sighed. "You can use those suits of power armor too. You were so excited before."

There was a very long pause where neither spoke. Finally, Yayoi sighed. "The mecha are really cool, and a mecha just for me would be the best, but..."

"You're scared of your other self."

Yayoi nodded. "She's...she's really scary. Even just the picture, because that's what I've always wanted. I mean, being a Precure was the same thing, but that would be. . . and I. . . I don't know if I'd be like that. So I shouldn't get one."

"That's not true, Yayoi. I'm sure you'd do fine."

Yayoi winced. "Do you need me that badly?"

"We might." Mana admitted.

Yayoi sighed. "I'm sorry. Cure Peace is sitting this one out."

Mana nodded. "All right. But you'll still be at the portal, right?"

"Yeah, sure thing Mana." Yayoi didn't sound sure. "But that's all."

Mana grinned and patted her on the back, putting the last of the manga on the pile. "That's enough. Don't worry about it."

"All right. I think I'll get back to reading." Yayoi grinned shyly. "Want to stay up with me?"

Mana shook her head. "I'm gonna finish checking the wing and then sleep myself."

"Oh. All right." Yayoi sat back down on the couch with a wave as the doors closed. When she turned though, she found herself looking deeply into a pair of purple eyes.

"Hi Mana!"

Mana heard the sound of snapping fingers, and suddenly wavered on her feet. With a yawn, she found herself curling up right on the floor.

* * *

Gemini glanced at the clock. It was 3:30. Regina had been gone for so long….she considered calling Sebastian, but the man had to sleep some time. Although she'd never actually seen him do so, and she was living in the same cave as him.

Putting that little mystery out of her mind, she sat up and looked around, immediately noting the mini-fridge under the counter. She had just pulled out the Ace Tea placed prominently in the front of the rack when she realized.

Regina might be a touch ditzy and unfamiliar with human emotions, but she was pretty quick with the fine points of modern technology. She knew what a fridge was, and that there was food in it.

So where had she gone?

* * *

Mana floated above the city, stars twinkling like jewels what seemed like miles below her. The glass vessel gave a clear view all around, an impression of drifting lazily through the night sky. She heard soft music playing from somewhere, a melody that at once seemed familiar and so impossibly beaufitul that she was sure she'd have remembered it if she'd heard it before. She leaned back into the impossibly thick seat that she couldn't see, and looking up realized that she was sitting in the carriage of an impossibly huge Ferris wheel, the super-structure so long that it would obviously collapse under its' own weight.

In a moment of panic, she bolted out of her seat and looked at...Regina? Not the mysteriously older doppleganger who had turned her life upside down. No, this was the girl who had approached her wanting to be friends. "Re-Regina…"

The girl, however, didn't react with surprise or shock as one would expect from someone in a moment of heart-stopping panic. Indeed, the sudden motion, which should have sent them careening, instead found them on stable footing. "Mana. Isn't this perfect?"

Mana smiled for a moment. "Yeah, it is."

"Then come sit back down and enjoy it." The girl who wasn't her Regina pleaded.

Mana shook her head. "Regina, this isn't right."

"...I'm sorry. What should I change?" Makoto said to her. Mana blinked, but one moment it was Regina's girl-form, and the next it had been replaced with Makopi.

The sudden shift only disrupted her for a moment. "Regina, that's not it."

Alice smiled, wearing a dress that was just a little too well-tailored. "Perhaps you'd prefer this? None of this is real, of course, I can make whatever you want."

"Regina, stop!" Mana interjected as Rikka hugged her from behind.

"I know you're close to her, and wouldn't this be the best to find out what it's like?"

Mana sighed. "Yes it would, Regina, but that's not what I'm trying to say."

"Oh, don't worry about your body, I put you to bed before I started. You are so silly, you need_ sleep_."

"I'm fine, I should really check on the others."

Miyuki tried to gently pull her back into the seat. "The dance troupe girls are all all dividing up who stays and who goes and planning which engagements to cancel with their manager. It's really complicated, so they're not going to sleep tonight. The music faeries finally settled down after you talked to them, the two girls with them are busy. No one else is awake."

"STOP!" Mana shouted, pushing Regina - her true self - into the chair. "You were spying on everyone?"

Regina pouted. "Just sensitive hearing. I'm not an idiot, you...oh, wait, you don't know, that's right. Yes, Gemini's taught me about actually using my magic to peep on people. Only the ones who have given permission or we need to do it to stop them from hurting people."

"That's wrong on so many levels I don't know where to begin.. And at the same time I can't figure out how to argue." Mana admitted. "Okay, why the heck are you_ doing this to me?_"

"Would you prefer to be awake?" Mana's head found its' way to her hand. "What?"

"Regina, I'll say this again. I'm not Gemini." Mana said, slowly and patiently. "She'd be upset with you if she knew you were doing this."

"Probably." Regina admitted. "But right now I don't care. She broke her promise."

Mana glared daggers at her. "So you're just doing this to get back at my counterpart, who happens to be_ your_ girlfriend?"

"No. Not just that." Regina grinned. "I really do want to have fun with you."

Mana sighed. "Because I look like Gemini."

"Because you feel more like Mana to my heart," Regina hugged her knees. "She's changed, so much. I love the new Gemini, but I loved the old Mana. And now I can have both!"

"I'm sorry. But that's not fair to Gemini." Mana sighed. "Or, really, the forms of anyone you're taking."

"Okay." Regina glanced down at the ground. "This is really a nice dream too. One of my best."

Mana gave her a solid, but chaste, hug. "Then save it for your true love."

"It's not just the Ferris Wheel, you know. The whole amusement park's down there. Roller coasters, a haunted house….a tunnel of love." Regina tried hopefully.

"No."

"Okay, we can skip the last one."

"Wake me up now, please."

"...okay."

* * *

Mana's eyes flickered open. It took a moment to realize she wasn't looking into a concerned mirror, but Gemini's eyes. "Wake up!" The other girl was hissing urgently. "Come on!"

Mana groaned, pushing Gemini aside to sit up slowly. "Ugh….my head is killing me. I take it she's done this before."

"I'm sorry to say yes, although it's the first time she's done the dream world bit without permission. I didn't think to talk to her about that," Gemini admitted. "I really am sorry, Mana. She_ is_ trying her best."

Mana grinned through the pain. "I guess reforming an evil faerie is harder than we thought. It's fine, it's fine." She waved off an offer to help her up. "Is it worth it?"

"At the moment I want to_ strangle_ her." Gemini responded. "...but...most of the time, when she smiles at me, when we manage to have dinner alone, or when she's finally mastered some silly little thing that we probably learned when we were toddlers...yes."

"Then please, don't yell at her." Mana said. "I already scolded her."

"She's going to need an explanation, at least." Gemini warned. "That can get a little contentious."

"That's fine." Mana confirmed. "Besides, I should thank you. I'm sure you've made bringing Regina back to me will be so much easier seeing this."

"Heh. Offer's still open, you know."

Mana shook her head. "Focus on the job."

"Right, speaking of which..." Gemini found a USB stick being shoved into her hand.

"It's your world. Look it over and tell me if this is workable." Mana flopped back down and stretched out. "Where'd Regina go?"

"Probably back to my room like nothing happened." Gemini admitted. "You want to be there?"

"I've said what I needed to." Mana decided firmly. "Now, after that I really do need to sleep."

Mana didn't hear the door shut behind Gemini, already being gone before the other girl had opened the door.

* * *

Honoka was getting frustrated. The Yotsuba manor house was ridiculously large by any standard, let alone that of Japanese life. While she had noted the careful landscaping outside to make the grounds seem larger than they were, there were limits to how big a three story mansion could be.

Unless, of course, you not only built deep underground, but ignored the property lines once you were under the subway levels.

Except Honoka was reasonably sure she wasn't that deep, and she was completely lost. The tasteful wood decoration had long since given way to plain concrete and exposed pipes, but while she had seen an underground vehicle garrage, there was no sign of the secret lab that would have to be here if the man she wanted to talk to had the same abilities as his counterpart.

Frustrated, she turned on her heels. "Oh, where am I?"

"Somewhere you are not supposed to be, Miss." Sebastian's voice suddenly said from right behind her. Honoka jumped straight up and nearly hit her head on the low ceiling. Sebastian was right behind her, standing ramrod straight with mere centimeters of clearance. "Please, follow me. I will show you back to your room."

"Don't you have any other staff?" Honoka blurted out the first thing that came to her mind.

"They are well-trained. Did you need something?"

Honoka calmed herself down, pulling out her tablet. "Have you been….erm, researching Precure down here?"

If Sebastian was surprised by the question, he didn't show it in the slightest. "There was one effort to duplicate your powers, but it did not end well. I've had the resources for another attempt for awhile, but the young Miss hasn't needed the help as much as she's needed my support in other areas."

Honoka took this in for a moment, then handed over the tablet silently. Sebastian's eyes looked it over for a moment. "I would need to clear this kind of expenditure, but I can see no reason the Master would not agree. Please, keep that to yourself."

"Right," Honoka was only a little surprised. _It seems we have an unknown ally._ "How long would it take you?"

"With your assistance, two days." Sebastian quickly estimated. "Now, you're in no condition to be giving that assistance. I will lead you down to the lab after lunch. For now, please follow me."

Honoka could see there was no use in arguing.

* * *

Standing right outside the door to her bedroom, Rikka stood waiting in the sunlight streaming through the windows. Mana, still conscious of how many people would be sleeping in the surrounding rooms, resisted the urge to hug her friend and instead walked more slowly.

The stinging sound of a slap caught her completely off-guard, as did the faint pain in her cheek. She gave her childhood friend a look of utter disbelief. "Rikka?"

"You can't keep_ doing_ this Mana." Her voice was quiet, anguished. "I know, I_ know_ you need everyone to be happy. But this...this...I'm frightened, Mana. What if the next time it's not someone who thinks just like you? You're going to get yourself hurt, or worse, if you keep this up."

"Rikka…" Mana swallowed.

"No, Mana,_ listen_." Rikka kept her voice soft, but she couldn't manage to keep the plaintive plea out of it. "I don't know what I'd do if something happened. It's fine when you're just helping out around the school, but you can't possibly have a plan for everything where you, personally, save the day."

"Rikka, that's not it and you know it." Mana suddenly gave her friend a hug. "Yeah, I'd thought about this ahead of time, but getting involved myself was always a last resort. But we didn't have time to call the police, and Gemini wasn't stable. She wouldn't talk to_ anyone_ else, and she might have hurt someone. Just this once, it_ had_ to be me."

"What about next time?!" Rikka's voice rose ever so slightly. "That's exactly the attitude I'm talking about. 'If I don't step in, who will?' But you're a kid, Mana, it's not supposed to be your place to step in to help everyone in the world who needs it. You're not a goddess."

"You're right, I'm not." Mana admitted. "You're not saying anything I don't think every day."

"Then_ why?_ Why, why, why? Why spend every night thinking of every unpleasant thing that_ might_ happen around you just so you know what to do? I thought it was just broken bones and bad sports scores, but this thing with Gemini...how many real nutcases are you planning on talking down?" Rikka stopped to take a breath. "What is_ driving_ you to be like this?"

"Because I'm not a goddess, I have to do the best I can." Mana sniffed. "I...I knew you were always worried, but…"

"So the same answer as always." Rikka wiped a tear out of her eye. "Mana, I_ need_ you to promise me. Don't make the world's problems yours. There's a time to admit you can't do everything on your own and ask a...a specialist."

"Of course!" Mana grinned. "That's why I programmed the emergency section of the phone book onto my cell phone. Organized it by reputation and prefecture too."

"..."

"...what, something else?" Mana asked.


	5. Chapter 5

It was mid-morning, just after a buffet breakfast that had been heavily visited. No one had gotten a very good night's sleep. One of the girls, her hair a darker shade of magenta than Mana's, swept an unruly bang out of her eyes and sat in the European garden, taking a few moments to enjoy the ambiance before someone caught up to her. She was nearly out of her teens, with a boyfriend and a hope to leave this part of her life behind her. Not that Nozomi regretted becoming a Precure, but it was a thing she thought belonged in the past along with her middle school years.

Ditz. Airhead. Useless. Yumehara Nozomi was actually well aware of the reputation she had as Cure Dream. She'd even admit she half deserved it. A long time ago, when she'd first gotten her powers, she probably deserved all of it, but now she was a college student, getting...well, not_ great_ grades but pretty decent. She'd even started putting out tentative feelers for a crucial teaching assistant position, although of course that wouldn't come up for over a year yet. She was even fluent in English now, at least enough that she felt confident about maybe doing that step in America and getting her driver's license at the same time.

Nozomi wasn't an idiot. She'd rather get an American license than deal with_ that_ hassle.

But now she had the strangest sinking feeling. Oh, sure, the existence of Cure Nightmare bothered her, but in more of an abstract way than it seemed to disturb everyone else. After all, it would take something really,_ really_ bad to turn her into something that terrible.

Right?

No, what bothered her about this mirror universe was. . . why was everyone going along with this there? In the world Nozomi understood, people weren't really innately evil. They might get a little selfish, but they wouldn't set out to cause pain and suffering. But this Youkai Task Force thing seemed to have been born in the worst nightmares she'd ever had.

Well, Nozomi was stronger now than in those days. If there was a way, she'd wake Nightmare up.

Just as Nozomi had come to that decision, a hand landed on her shoulder. She covered it with her own and looked up, meeting the blue eyes of Karen. She saw her friend shake her head. "Nozomi, don't go, okay?"

Nozomi laughed. "Am I that obvious?"

"Yes, actually." Karen took a seat on the park bench next to her, not meeting Nozomi's eyes. "You were up first, you barely ate, and now you're sitting in the garden. This isn't like you." She took a deep breath.

"I'll save her." Nozomi interrupted. "No matter what."

"Just like that, huh?"

The grin in response could have lit up the room. "Of course, just like that. She's not the first mirror clone we've seen to need a friend. I can't imagine anyone's reached out to her in a long time."

"That's because she's crazy." Karen pointed out. "We don't know what they did to her."

Nozomi swallowed. "Cure of Intelligence, huh Karen?" She looked down to where she was gripping the hem of her dress. "But you know I can't leave Nightmare like that. You saw Gemini."

"Who the heck did you think I was talking about?" Karen snorted. "Rikka and her friends don't see it, do they?"

"Nah, they do. Just don't care." Nozomi shrugged. "Can you honestly say we'd have been any different?"

Karen's eyes widened for a moment in shock, but then she laughed. "You wouldn't have let us."

"So are you really surprised?"

Karen wrapped her arms around her old friend with a sigh. "Come back alive, Nozomi. And bring Nightmare with you."

"Right!" Nozomi returned the hug with a smile. "Let's go talk with the others."

"And find out who's going with you," Karen sighed.

Nozomi shook her head. "No. We live near enough to Tokyo that we can get here. I have to go, but you girls need to stay. You especially, since everyone needs a place to stay and your place isn't watched like Alice is afraid of."

"Nozomi!"

"No!" The young woman stood up. "Karen, I'm counting on you. Watch after little Aguri."

Karen took a step back, almost shocked, then turned her eyes towards the pond. "All right. Don't expect the others to go along with this."

"So don't tell them 'till the train's left." Nozomi shrugged. "I know, I know, I should, but... "

"For once, you're right." Karen said with resignation and some bitterness. "You going is reason enough for us all to go, but one little kid being on the city defense is a better reason for all of us to stay."

Nozomi grinned. "And don't worry so much, I'll be back."

* * *

Chinen Miyuki, once the lead dancer for the Trinity group, and now both the trainer and manager of Clover, looked down at the troupe's latest schedule, then up at Miki. "Sets can handle things, but are you sure?"

"Would you stop asking that?" The girl with the long blue hair sighed. "Yeah, look. We're announcing our retirement next year anyway, right? It's been a good run, but Buki wants to start college soon, and not just a class here and there. The fashion thing...well, it's not really working out, is it? I only get the gigs I do because of Clover, and we all know it."

Miyuki put the schedule down. "Well, I guess that's true. The others will be up in a few minutes. Do you want me to say goodbye?"

"I'll tell them myself." Miki picked up the letter. "I'm surprised they asked, but... "

"Are you really?" Miyuki shrugged. "I saw the letter too, they want someone from each group."

"Wonder why...and why me and not Sets or Love?"

Miyuki gave her a rather sad smile. "Maybe one of them saw something I should have awhile ago. Do you think you needed this?"

"Precure is something that should have been in the past. But hey, if you can't run away from it, and with the way things have been going these past few years we can't. . . embrace the madness. After all... "

"You're perfect, right?" Miyuki's amusement grew.

"Nah. But I'm good."

* * *

Tsukikage Yuri snapped her cell phone shut, giving the others a look. "Assuming my powers work, looks like I've been asked to come along," she muttered under her breath, though not so quietly that her friends couldn't hear her.

Erika, with an ice bag on her head, groaned in agony. "Well, couldn't have happened to a nicer person, now please keep it down."

Yuri's lips quirked ever so slightly. "Suffer. You shouldn't have been sneaking from the punch bowl all night."

Tsubomi put her hands on her hips. "Quit arguing. Besides, we've got to sort Erika out before the rest of us head back to Kibougahana."

Yuri's amusement grew a bit more. "Tsubomi, you just got a hand-punched ticket from Tokyo University, so if you just tell your parents you want to stay in Tokyo a few days to check out schools it should be fine."

Tsubomi and Itsuki gave Erika a skeptical look at that. "Might be okay for us, but there's no way they'll buy Erika could get in to Toudai, not in a million years."

"I'll just go hang out in Shibuya, maybe try to sell something. When the world stops spinning." Erika tried to say, but it came out as kind of a mumble that only Tsubomi could translate.

"We won't be in Tokyo anyway." Yuri clarified. "Our job is to power the portal, and it's going to take all four of us. You did bring a few extra days of clothing, right?"

"Who do you think you're talking to?" Erika shouted as she stood up.

Everyone watched as the extent of this mistake became apparent. Erika slowly turned green. Then the ice bag fell off her head. A moment later she ran for the suite bathroom.

* * *

In contrast to the other Miyuki, Cure Happy was getting exhausted. She was, after all, the ferry service. Back and forth through the book world she carried people, to get them home, get their things, make excuses, make arrangements, make new friends, meet old friends. By later afternoon, she munched on some sweets from a cafe in the book world house, in an unusually bad mood.

A mood that got even worse when the door opened and Gemini stepped through. "What do you want?"

Gemini was taken aback. "I just wanted to thank you for all your hard work."

"Yeah, well, don't expect me to be thrilled. I know how you mirror-people work." Miyuki's voice full of accusation. "I'm keeping my eye on you."

Gemini stopped short, giving the girl an appraising look. "I'm fairly impressed. You're either smarter or dumber than your counterpart. And for the life of me, I can't tell which."

"Oh, really? And just why isn't she here, huh? What evil schemes is she plotting, huh?"

Gemini swallowed. This was not how she had wanted this conversation to go. "Miss Hoshizora, with everything you've learned, please believe me. It doesn't matter now, and you don't want to know."

"Hah! So she IS up to something!" Miyuki declared. "But it's not like anyone will believe me anyway, so for now I have to let yo-"

"It doesn't_ matter_ Miyuki." Gemini snapped. "I could go into the details, but all you have to know is she's not involved."

"Hmph. Like I'm really going to believe that. You're just an evil version of Mana." Miyuki shrugged in dismissal. "But you'll screw up, eventually, and they'll see the truth. That's how it always works."

"Fine." Gemini slumped. "Only because it's obvious you're stuck in your fairy tale, I'll tell you the reality. At least what I know of it. The Cure Happy of my world is . . . not with us." She couldn't bring herself to say 'dead' to this girl. "I don't know what happened, exactly, but I'm told she got in a fight with the rest of her team. March sided with her."

Miyuki stopped, then laughed. "Really, a fight?"

"Yeah. I wasn't there, but it was a bit after I became Cure Heart. You were sent in to capture me first the night things...went wrong." Miyuki went quiet while Gemini continued. "Peace had just gotten her power armor and wanted to use it, you didn't think it was a good idea. It was a five on one fight. I needed an edge, and I used my sword on Cure Beauty when she pulled out those ice swords. She got hurt, never found out how bad, and I made my escape. A little later Peace had her armor, there were some explosions...and I never saw you again."

"...but...but...she...the other me...could be alive?"

Gemini shrugged. "Maybe. But if she did live, she either quit or got put in lockup, and if she lived she's outside the Tokyo Quarantine Zone and can't get back in." Gemini looked up. "Miyuki, you are a beautiful young woman. I know you love your stories, and you want to make them your life's work. I talked with you a bit before. Please. It's too late for most of them now, but at least you. Walk away. I hurt people. It's all I do now. Don't….don't…."

Suddenly there was another pair of arms around her. Miyuki smiled. "I'm sorry….Mana." Gemini tried to object, but was silenced by a finger on her lips. "One day you'll be able to say your name again. I'm sure. I still don't trust you, but I don't think you're lying."

Gemini started to laugh. "How many people are in love with that clone of mine?"

"Everyone who knows her." Miyuki giggled. "It's her curse."

Gemini chuckled, but gently pushed Miyuki back. "If she comes back...if they come back, they won't be the same. Before we go I'll give you my reserve cash. I won't be needing it. Do me a huge favor. Use it to come check up on them."

"As often as I can," Miyuki promised.

* * *

Aguri looked over the 'troops.' While Cures Black and White had promised to return, Mana had chosen to take almost every experienced Cure with them for the initial trip, or at least that's what it had felt like. And now she had been sitting in the middle of the dregs for almost an hour while they compared schedules. They'd need to work with each other when the Jikochuu realized the majority of her allies were off in the middle of nowhere. "Will you listen to me!?"

A rather irate Cure Melody snapped back "We're not exactly happy either, kiddo. Keeping an eye on someone else's turf is hard, even if it's just for a couple of days. My dad's gonna be worried, so I can't stay past tomorrow!"

Cure Beat, a rather catty-looking...Aguri amended that statement with a start, realizing that she had the faint aura of a faerie. She_ was_ probably a cat. Ellen put up her hands. "Now now, everyone's got a personal life here. I'm living back in Major Land, so the Princess gave me as much time as I need. So I'll babysit Agu-"

The girl in question cut her off. "I have more experience than you do!"

"I'm sure." Beat sighed. "Fine. I'll do my best to keep up with you."

In the background, Cure Passion, one of that Miki girl's companions - and another faerie, Aguri thought, put her forehead in her hand. "This is going to be a long few days."

Aguri felt her temper on a slow burn when someone else, a tall green-haired girl - probably Mint - shook her head. "Please, everyone. We've almost got this worked out. It's lucky some of us still have family in the area…"

Aguri shouted "It's not ENOUGH!" Everyone stopped and gave her a look. "I'm sorry, but just one or two of you isn't going to be enough. What if there's an invasion?"

Cure Happy, who had been quiet through most of the discussion, spoke up. "We've got a plan for that. Since we won't be needing the Decors for the other world anymore, everyone take one and memorize this room." She grinned. "Bookshelf over there, see? We just trade cell phone numbers, and everyone can be back in Tokyo as soon as they can find some books!"

Rhythm grinned and sagged into her chair in relief. "Oh, good. That'll cover us for a few days, and then most everyone will be back and we can actually deal with something like that."

"What do we do until then?!" Aguri started to feel panic creeping in around the edges of her consciousness. Five minutes. It wasn't enough time, not for an invasion. And these girls were treating it like this was some game.

"What we always do, Aguri." Passion said definitively. "Win."

* * *

Almost past midnight, after a long train ride and a bus that took half as long, eighteen girls and young women stumbled into the hot springs resort. Alice was in front, already writing out a large check to cover the stay and smooth over ruffled feathers. Gemini gave her a grateful smile and looked longingly toward the baths.

Next was Miki, a plain outfit, sunglasses, and a furtive expression. A few people had recognized her on the train, and by morning she was sure there would be photographers everywhere. Even Makoto, behind her, was on edge because of that, with DB taking up the rear of the idols.

Yuri stepped off next, with a frustrated Itsuki carrying Erika while Tsubomi just sighed. "Just drop her, if she doesn't wake up at least it's summer and maybe she'll learn something."

Itsuki gave Tsubomi a bit of a skeptical look, but did as she was told. In moments Erika was on her feet. "What's the big idea!"

"It's time to get up." Yuri deadpanned. "Now, get your things."

Nagisa pushed past them. "Come on, still people who have to get off," Everybody budged aside as four more young women, who Gemini looked back and identified as Bloom, Egret, and their friends Michiru and Kaoru (or Bright and Windy.) _Huh. Wonder why Bright and Windy never turned up in our world._

Yayoi gulped, slipping quietly past with her drawing notebook. It seemed to have seen better days, so Regina, who was right behind, guessed that it was probably not for serious use so it had been around longer. Nozomi came off next, stretching out after a long doze in a most undiginified manner.

Mana and Rikka were the last off, both looking utterly exhausted from efforts at keeping the group organized.

Alice grinned and exchanged a few whispers with the owner, and with another nod Gemini (and most of the other girls) followed. Only a few minutes later they were all sprawled out in the hot spring. But Alice wasn't having it.

"Come," she said to Gemini, who looked about ready to pass out. "We need to have a talk."

Gemini groaned a little as her muscles protested, but she followed into a side room. There was a bath in here as well, fed directly with water from the main hot spring. Alice locked the door behind them and turned to her with a serious expression. "Look, if it's about the money…" Gemini swallowed, realizing that maybe she'd pushed the bounds of hospitality too far even where the gracious girl was concerned.

"It is," Alice said in her usual, calm voice. "But not in the way you think. I know you've been hurting for luxuries, but it wouldn't hurt to express a little gratitude to the others for helping you."

Gemini hugged her knees in the water, "I know. This is. . . big. Huge. I'm. . . I guess I'm just overwhelmed. In three days we've put together something that took the Japanese government four years to get going."

"No, that's not what happened here," Alice slid into the water casually. "Your Youkai Task Force is an army. An army of little girls, but an army. We're a_ family_ Gemini. We help each other, that's what familes do." Gemini curled up even more tightly as Alice continued. "The years are starting to pull us apart, we don't get together nearly often enough, but that will never, ever change." Suddenly there was a hand on Gemini's shoulder. "You're welcome to join us…."

Gemini's eyes widened, and for a moment Alice could see the incredible pain behind them, all the things that Gemini was trying to hold back, that she wasn't saying.

And then it closed up, Gemini standing up again. "Miss Yostuba, please don't."

Alice stared as the girl retreated to the main baths.

* * *

Makoto watched Alice grab Gemini, and decided this would be a good time to get a moment away. Regina might be more powerful, but Makoto was sure that Gemini was by far the more dangerous of the two girls. And Alice could handle herself as long as that damn sword was out in the cubbies.

Makoto was sympathetic to Gemini's situation, but the girl was clearly on a hair trigger at best. _At worst, that Regina's completely corrupted her and they're just a pair of Jikochuu._ With that cheery thought, she took a deep breath and stood up from the water. "I think I'll go try that dry sauna over there." Without waiting for anyone to offer to join her, she got out of the water and entered the sealed chamber, turning the lights down a bit and the heat up. She sprawled out on the low-backed bench, letting her eyes close to think. The tension of the long train ride couped up with everyone had already started to dissolve in the water, but it practically flowed out from the heat of the room.

A sense of doom came over her as she realized that this thought might actually bear some review. _Professor Yukishiro looked over the science stuff and said that it didn't_ look_ like they'd made it up,_ she pondered. _They're definitely from an alternate dimension. Still, who knows what happened over there? Could this all be a clever ruse?_

Then she really thought about it. Mana wasn't incapable of lying, but she preferred honesty and forthrightness. _What would she be like as a Jikochuu?_ The answer came almost immediately. _Furious that the world won't conform to her ideas of how people should get along. An angel of righteous vengeance…yeah, that's Gemini, except... she's not sure of herself._ Makoto decided to relax for the moment. Yeah, the idea that Gemini might be Mana's Jikochuu was disturbing, but it didn't really change anything, and it seemed that even if it_ was_ the case, Gemini herself didn't know it.

It would probably be a bad idea to bring it up when Gemini was in earshot.

"Would you like me to rub your back?" a slightly younger, squeakier voice asked. Makoto was so lost in thought that she just made a vaguely assenting noise, until the hands landed on her. For a few moments it felt divine, before what was happening penetrated and she jumped, pressing her back against the wooden wall of the sauna with a shriek of panic.

"Re-Regina! What are you doing?"

Regina pouted. "Rubbing your back," she said, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "You seem tense. We're all supposed to get a good night's sleep and rest up tomorrow too, and I don't think you can do that."

Someone started to pound on the door. "Is everything all right in there?!" a voice Makoto couldn't identify called.

"NO!/Yes." Makoto and Regina said at the same time. Oddly, Regina's voice carried just as well, even though Makoto was shouting.

A second voice called through the door, and this one Makoto recognized as Davi. "Makoto, do you need help-davi?"

Makoto suddenly realized that her towel had slipped slightly, Regina was in her 'street clothes' that probably weren't appropriate for any street but those in Roppongi well into the late hours (and probably not on a girl her age) and that she had yelped loudly enough to be heard. "No, no, I'm fine! Don't come in!"

Regina grinned broadly. "So why don't you lay down?"

"GACK!" Right, Regina still paying attention. "Will you stop that?"

Mana's voice called through the door. "Makopi, what's going on?"

Makoto felt her panic starting to rise again. She tried to quash it down with a firm declaration of "Nothing is going on!"

Mana's voice came back "Then why do you sound all squeaky?"

"What? I do no-" Makoto made a very undignified squeaking noise when Regina's hand touched hers. She spun around to try to give the Jikochuu girl another scolding, when suddenly the door thumped loudly. "No! What are you doing!?"

"Opening the door," came an authoritative adult voice. "You girls are much too young for that kind of thing." Makoto went pale as she watched Regina's face at the accusation. It started as a pout of indignation that slowly drained to rage. Regina walked to the door and slammed it open, only to be faced with the chestnut-brown hair of Hyuuga Saki. The woman had a stern expression that didn't seem appropriate for her. But Regina wasn't the least bit cowed.

"_First_," Regina replied, actually snarling, "_I wasn't doing anything_. Second, I will_ not_ put up with a human telling me what I can and can't do because I'm 'not old enough.' Gimmie something better than that."

Saki took a step back, but also a deep breath, about to lay into her again, when Nozomi put a hand on her shoulder and shook her head. She stepped in front, and the blonde faerie's glare was suddenly focused on her. Nozomi didn't even flinch, just bent her knees to put herself at eye-level with Regina. "I don't think Makoto was very happy with what you were trying to do. I know you meant well, but you might want to think about how others feel."

Regina blinked at the calm tone, then smiled brightly. "You, I think I like. Want to go up to my room?"

Everyone nearby started to turn a deep crimson, but Nozomi just giggled. "I'm flattered, but I think maybe getting a drink at the vending machines and talking about it would be better." Embarrassment turned quickly to shock as Regina just nodded her assent.

"Sure. Get dressed and I'll meet you out there." Regina grinned, snapped her fingers, and vanished.

Everyone stared at Nozomi in shock for a few moments longer, while she just turned to Makoto. "Listen, she really didn't mean anything, I'm sure. Kids sometimes act inappropriately and she hasn't had the best guidance. I'll talk to her about boundaries and get this sorted."

Makoto nodded. "Th..thanks."

Saki turned away after Regina vanished, obviously intending to return to her interrupted soak. There was just one problem, peering up at her from under her bangs and long red hair. Before she could think to say anything, Tsubomi slapped her. "What the heck?" Saki's hand touched her cheek.

"Regina's just a kid," the redheaded girl was as angry as anyone had ever seen her. "She didn't know any better, and she's the only one who can get us around the other world. You didn't have to go after her like that!"

Saki snorted and turned towards the change room. "Yeah, right. She was just gonna molest Makoto there and you'd let her get away with it."

Tsubomi flinched as if she'd been the one struck. "Wh..what? I wouldn't - "

"Take that back!" Erika stepped between them. "Tsubomi would_ never_ do something like that!"

Saki backed away under the combined glare, but rescue came from an unexpected source as Yayoi stepped in. The blonde wasn't mad, but she did look worried. "I don't think Regina should just be allowed to get away with that, though..." She flinched as the pair glared at her after that.

"Hmph." A rather cool Michiru climbed out of the water. "I have to wonder if we're being tricked, if the girl can't keep control."

Finally drawn into the 'discussion' Miki sighed. "Just what do you know about it? It's not like any of us are faeries like her."

"We are," Kaoru countered. "Or were, anyway. We never had this much trouble pretending to be human back then. Obviously something's wrong."

Yuri was the next to speak. "You can't check the data. We know they're not lying about everything, and there's no reason not to trust them about themselves, for now."

Mai just sighed as Saki yelled again. "And just what do we do if they are?"

"Deal with it when it comes," Yuri said easily. "There's no reason to go to all this trouble for a trap."

Makoto swallowed as things started to fall apart. "Can I say something?"

"ENOUGH!" Gemini's voice called out at her sudden reappearance. "What the hell is_ wrong_ with you girls, shouting about this in the middle of the furo?!"

Everyone was stunned into silence, until Nagisa spoke up. "All right. I suggest everyone go to their rooms. Breakfast is at eight this morning, and after that we can split up, enjoy the town, and all cool our heads a little."

Slowly, and with great reluctance, everyone started to file out, until Makoto was left alone with Gemini. They gave each other a shared look of despair, before walking out together.

* * *

Saki slammed the door to the room shut behind her. With the futons all laid out it seemed like a wonderful gesture to her, but that was the problem.

"Ugh, why'd this have to happen?"

Mai opened the door behind her, and while she couldn't possibly have heard what was said her scolding tone was more than enough to make clear she hadn't needed to. "Well, if you hadn't intentionally antagonized half the group it wouldn't have?"

"What?" Saki tried her best to sound scandalized. "What do you mean? This is ridiculous. You as the head of some kind of...of... " she searched for the word, finally settling on "Gestapo? Me, the head enforcer? Executions?"

Maii pushed past to pull the curtains over the windows shut. "Why not? That stunt just showed everyone you want to be in charge."

"Tha-that's only because I don't buy their story. We shouldn't be charging into this head-long, that's all." Saki flopped down onto her futon, brushing some hair out of her eyes. "Nagisa's being way too trusting of something that would happily engage in sexual harassment like that. Who_ knows_ what else those two would be willing to do?"

"Risk everything to jump through a door to a world that they don't know, could have any number of dangers, and might well be even more hostile than the one they left, on the off chance there was some kind of help there." A long pause. "Oh, and brush your teeth."

"...dammit."

* * *

Nozomi found Regina, as promised, leaning against the bank of vending machines just outside the inn. Somewhat unexpected, she was already drinking from a can of beer. Nozomi actually facepalmed on seeing this. "Tell me you don't do that where anyone can see."

Regina sighed. "Nah. Don't get what the big deal is, anyway."

"You probably can't get drunk," Nozomi sighed. "So I guess it's okay. Just don't let anyone see you or us adults will have a lot of explaining to do."

"Is this like the thing where I'm not supposed to grab someone in public?" Regina sounded somewhat resigned as she said that.

"...that's part of it, yes." Nozomi decided that was as good a segue to the topic at hand as any. "There's two things. One, you're projecting the appearance of a high school girl, so people expect you to act like one."

"Okay, got that." Regina tossed the half-full beer into the trash. "Stuff tastes terrible anyway. If I can't even get the benefit...whatever that's supposed to be. Humans are weird. Want a soda?"

"The lemon tea would be lovely." Nozomi grinned, only for her eyes to widen in horror when Regina carefully lined up her fist and pounded the machine, two lemon teas falling out. "That's stealing!"

"...oh, right." Regina winced. "I'm sorry, I forgot I don't need to do that."

Nozomi swallowed. "We'll be paying for it in the morning."

"Right, right." Regina waved her hands. "Or I can just teleport the money into the machine if you've got it."

"...getting off topic." Nozomi decided quickly. "The other thing is that...well, what do you know about privacy?"

"Don't look at things people don't want you to look at unless you have a good reason."

Nozomi stared at the girl in front of her, trying to decide if she was joking. Reluctantly, she concluded Regina was_ not_ joking. "And...what is a good reason?"

"Saving people's lives," Regina began to list off, as if she had memorized it. "When you think they're doing something that will hurt people, or you think they might be the target of a monster attack, or you need something they have to survive. And for the last, check with at least two of the others to be sure."

She tried to think of a flaw in the logic but...well, from Regina's perspective, they_ seemed_ like sensible rules. "Do you….know why?"

"Because they don't like it when you go poking in. They don't like it when the reason is good, either, but they're also complicit with the government so it may come down to them or us." Regina said, not quite sounding like she was reciting from a list but still giving the impression of a dutiful student during an oral test.

"Right." _This girl is going to take a_ long_ time to sort out. But for right now…_ Nozomi thought to herself, then spoke up. "Well, Regina...this is sort of the same thing, but it's a lot more important. Most people don't like to be...touched, just because you feel like getting friendly."

"Why not?"

Luckily, this time Nozomi had an answer. "Because they think you want to play with them the way you 'play' with Gemini."

"Sex, Dream." Regina bluntly interjected. "It's called 'sex' and there's nothing wrong with it."

"Of course there isn't," Nozomi easily slid past. "I happen to have a wonderful boyfriend. But there can be something wrong with sex if it's with someone who doesn't want to."

"Right. I know that….oh." Nozomi could almost_ hear_ the click coming from Regina's head. She briefly even wondered if she had heard it, and it was just some weird thing with the Jikochuu, but the girl pressed on before Nozomi could contemplate it further. "I really didn't mean to go any further. Makoto just looked so tense and exhausted, and…"

"You want to be her friend?" Nozomi asked, only to get a nod. "Well then, in the morning you should apologize to her."

"Yeah. Thanks. So I shouldn't offer backrubs as a peace offering then?"

"...for now, let's go with that. There's more, but…" Nozomi started, but Regina hugged her, then vanished again. "This girl's going to need more help than I can give…"

* * *

The small garden, filled more with greens than flowers, suited Tsubomi's mood perfectly in the early morning light. She sat next to the stone lantern, tapping idly on the tablet Alice had provided to give the whole thing one last look over.

It was better than thinking about last night.

Still, she'd have to see the others again eventually. Maybe she could take the early breakfast. In fact, she'd resolved to do just that when she looked up and saw Gemini entering the garden.

And walk straight to her, not even pausing. "There you are. I had a feeling you'd be out here, Blossom."

"Ah, what did you need?" Tsubomi tried to keep the nervousness out of her voice, but it didn't work.

Gemini just smiled at that, and sat down next to her. "Nothing, really. Thanks for last night. Regina really doesn't need to think that we're not accepting of her."

"That's not why I did it." Tsubomi shut off the tablet. "Why do you do that, anyway?"

"Do what?"

"Call us by our Cure names?"

Gemini sighed. "Because that's how I know your other selves. It's not like you leave the Garden in civilian form."

"The Garden?" Tsubomi grinned. "What's that like?"

Gemini shrugged. "Never been myself. I hear it's nice. All I know for sure is it's where the YTF's Precure get to live. If you're not a Cure you need top clearance to get in and you need to go past four security checkpoints. Cures have some other way in and out, but I've never been told what it is."

"Who told you that?"

Gemini gave Tsubomi a sidelong glance. "You, actually. We don't get to talk much, but there's...an understanding. I beat up the monsters, you and Marine finish them off."

Tsubomi smiled a bit. "I...you know, I think that's the first bit of good news I've heard about your world. It tells me there's some hope."

"Yeah." Gemini stood up suddenly. "Look, I bet you have rice every day for breakfast. How about a cafe? My treat."

* * *

Yayoi sipped at her tea, idly pushing her salad around on the breakfast plate. As the last up, the kitchen was mostly closed down but they'd saved a bit for her. She sighed, taking a bite of toast, and looked up into blue eyes barely two inches from her face.

"Hey, you okay?" Erika asked her. Seconds passed, before Yayoi jumped back.

"H..how do you DO that?"

Erika shrugged. "Well, it keeps me in shape, so I still practice Miyoudin style with Itsuki a bit. Guess I'm light on m - Wait, you didn't answer my question!" She leaned in close again.

Yayoi pushed back from the table. "Uhm….I guess I'm just nervous."

"What, you aren't going through that portal, right?" Erika shrugged. "That's the easy part, we're just here to turn it on."

"Yeah." Yayoi reached over to pick up her tea before Erika knocked it over.

Erika shrugged. "Unless you're secretly planning on jumping through at the last minute!"

"EEK!"

"Knew it!" Erika grinned broadly at the exclamation. "Yeah, I know your type. I won't tell anyone."

"But, I mean, I'm no-"

"Nonsense!" Erika grabbed the toast off the plate and took a bite.

"HEY!"

Erika gnawed on the bread for a moment. "Oh, sorry, that was yours, right? I get distracted. But yeah, you should really just say what you're feeling! I'll go tell Nagisa you changed your mind! Seeya!" Erika jumped up from the table and walked out of the dining room.

Yayoi tried to protest, but there were so many things she wanted to say they all died on her lips.

* * *

"Gemini!" Regina flew down the street of the small town. Cars, busses, even a few people doing their morning shopping, but Regina didn't care about that. There was only one thing on her mind. "GEMINI!"

A hand reached out and yanked her to the ground, and suddenly she was staring Miki right into the eye. "What are you_ doing?_" the dancer asked her. "You can't just fly around in broad daylight, what if someone takes a picture?"

"There's no time for all that! Gemini's missing!" Regina looked around. "She wasn't at breakfast, she wasn't in bed when I woke up, she isn't at the hotel, she isn't at the cliff yet so there's still time, we have to find her before she -"

"Regina, relax." Miki gave the hysterical girl a small shake. "Pay attention. Can you do that?" Regina nodded. "Tsubomi wasn't at breakfast either. I'm sure they're fine and together."

"Oh, so she went off with Blossom did she," Regina pouted petulantly at that news.

Miki giggled. "Ah...are you_ jealous_?" Regina's pout deepened into a scowl while Miki giggled uncontrollably. "Regina, you have nothing to worry about from Tsubomi. Or any other girl."

"...yeah, right…" Regina sank down to the ground. "I...damn. I'm an idiot, but we still need to find Gemini."

Miki sensed a change in tone, rather than blind panic it was a sense of . . . well, just plain worry. "Why?"

"Please, just trust me. I need to check on her, just to be sure," Regina winced, realizing how that sounded. "I mean, not that I don't trust her to behave...sort of. But…"

"Is there something wrong with her health?" Regina nodded to the question. "Should we have her see a doctor?" A shake of the head. "Can you tell me what it is?" Another shake. "Why not?"

"Because Gemini doesn't know, all right? And she can't find out, she_ can't_!" Regina put her hands on Miki's shoulders. "Promise me, Berry. You have to promise!"

Miki winced. "You should tell her, but I'll let you decide when. I don't know how big this is, but you should really tell her before we get into another battle."

"That'll have to wait," The voice of a young boy came in Miki's ear. "So, one of Regina's fake Precure, hmm?" Miki jumped protectively in front Regina, looking at the short floating boy with the bat wings on his neck. "Ah well, no skin off my back. I know she's a fake herself."

Regina frowned. "Not a fake, just kind of different. Believe me, the power's real."

"Feh, whatever. I cooked up a little something special just for today. Take a look." Regina and Miki turned around to see a giant bunny rabbit. "Of course, that's not the only one. Sent a whole hutch full of the little things out to play."

Regina chuckled. "Oh, clever, especially for you." Ira blinked at the compliment. "The rabbits make most girls think they're harmless, but a wild rabbit's plenty dangerous, especially when you're as small as we are. Berry, take this seriously, but we'll have to move fast. I'll get someone else to handle the cleanup."

"Wha-? Hey, wait, Regina!" Miki shouted, but Regina vanished. It took Miki a moment to register that she'd not actually been abandoned but help was on the way, so she pulled out her Linkrun. "Change! Precure…Beat Up!" Blue light filled the streets, and Cure Berry replaced Miki in a flash. "The blue heart is the symbol of hope!" She would have gone on with her introduction, but Ira was laughing.

"Oh god, that frilly dress, and where the heck are you keeping that pair! Oh-hahaha! Geez, Regina can't even design a good Precure!" He pointed at her, still laughing. "I bet you can't even move right in those heels!"

Cure Berry rolled her eyes. In the days where she'd done this regularly, the reaction she would have had would be to get drawn into the insults. But with a little more age and experience, just began her weaker attack. "Espoir...SHOWER!"

Ira jumped, realizing he was being attacked by a jet of solid water knocking him into the wall. "...ow...that smarts…" The evil rabbit...was just soaked, and looking pissed.

"What?" Miki stared at the wet rabbit, stunned. "That usually turns them back to normal."

Ira stood up and shook off the hit. "Heh, looks like you're just a fake after all. Get'er."

Miki stared at the rabbit for a moment, then realized those teeth were rather large and headed for her neck. She screamed and ran.

* * *

A quiet cafe, with only a few customers in the late morning, saw Itsuki and Hikari sitting by the window. Itsuki sipped at her tea, glancing out the window. "So why did you come?" she asked. "I mean, you are a faerie. Sort of. Close enough for it to be a problem."

Hikari just smiled and took a quick bite of her pastry. When Itsuki didn't drop the subject, she just shrugged. "Honoka and Nagisa need me."

Itsuki swept some of her long blonde hair out of her eyes. "Really? Those two? I mean, no offense, I've seen you in action too, but they're strong enough to lift a battleship. And they've more experience, if only by a year…"

Hikari just shrugged. "That's probably true. I can't explain it, just a feeling, but…"

Itsuki nodded to that. The young woman in front of her was supposedly a piece of the Queen of Light, or looked at another way maybe a manifestation of the very concept. No one knew how literally to take that, Itsuki included, but if Hikari felt that she was needed, there wasn't really any room to argue. "So, what have you been doing with yourself?"

"Liberal arts degree," Hikari grinned at the expression on Itsuki's face. "Well, actually that's just a cover. Honoka's been encouraging me to work on my magical powers. I think she wants to go public, but mostly I've been volunteering my time and working on becoming a guide."

"Really?" The younger girl blinked in astonishment. "That sounds so…"

"Ordinary?" Hikari's smile didn't falter. "I'm just a normal girl. But I came to this world as anything but. My friends were wonderful in making me feel secure being here, helping me learn what this world is like. I want to help other people do the same. Even if it's just helping one part of this world connect to ours…"

Itsuki seemed about to respond, when she heard a scream. Looking out the window, she saw an explosion of pink light in the distance. "Tsubomi!" But her worry for her friend was immediately replaced with sheer stupefaction at the sight of Cure Berry, tearing down the street at a clip that had to be approaching the sound barrier, being pursued by a giant bunny. She started to bolt out of her chair, but felt a restraining hand on her shoulder. "Hikari! What are you doing?"

"Don't worry," Hikari grinned. "She looks like she has everything under control."

"We've got to help!" Itsuki countered.

Hikari sipped at her coffee. "We will. Finish your tea. Right now we'll be more hindrance than help."

"Are you crazy?"

Hikari's voice remained serene. "No. I just know where these things usually end up. We'll be better off waiting for everyone to gather in one place."

* * *

Gemini patted her stomach. "Oh, kami, I have not been eating this good regularly for months!"

Tsubomi giggled softly. "You just wanted to treat yourself."

"Well, that too." Gemini folded her arms behind her head as she walked. "But thanks. It's nice just being...normal...again…"

Tsubomi shook her head. "It's no problem, Gemini. But we should probably call someone, I just realized."

"Oh," Gemini went a bit pale. "Regina's probably beside herself. And we don't have cell phones."

"Why not?"

"No account on this side."

"Oh…" Tsubomi frowned, but then her jaw dropped. Charging down the street was another of the Jikochuu Rabbits. "Shoot! Chypre!" There was no answer from her faerie. "Oh no, we left her back at the inn!"

Gemini pulled out her Commune and looked at a small bar on the side. "Just enough charge left." She frowned, then looked at Tsubomi. "No time. Get out your Perfume, I might be able to use the Commune to charge it."

"Huh?" Tsubomi pulled out the small artifact that looked like a perfume bottle, only to have Gemini snatch it.

It took a moment, but slowly energy flowed from the Commune into the slot for a matching trinket and briefly solidified. Gemini handed it back, her eyes faded to a dull purple. "G..go."

Tsubomi concentrated for a moment...it felt different from usual, but she realized that that was probably Gemini's unusual method. "Precure, OPEN MY HEART!" Moments later, Cure Blossom was standing on the street...and Gemini, still in her civilian form, was collapsed against the wall. "Gemini!"

"You've got one minute!" Gemini growled out. "Don't wait around!"

"R-right!" Blossom turned to the rabbit and steeled herself, throwing herself at the beast fist first. Gemini groaned at the lack of form, but Blossom seemed to be strong enough to use raw power to substitute for some technique. The rabbit flew back down the street, but landed on its' feet and came back at her.

Blossom leapt over the monster, only to take a kick from the hind legs straight to her midsection and fly down the street with a cry of pain. At the same time, Gemini doubled over at her own stomach. Blossom stood up and saw Gemini laying there. It didn't take her long to make the connection, and she pulled out the Blossom Tact. "...Pink Forte WAVE!" The Jikochuu was enveloped in the energy. At the same moment, Gemini began to scream.

Blossom almost stopped, but Gemini shouted "I'll be fine if you finish it NOW!" Blossom nodded, and let loose with her own scream of effort, her power lifting the monster bunny off the ground. Another flash of light later, and an ordinary rabbit fell back down. Blossom quickly dismissed the transformation and lifted Gemini up. "..go..good work," Gemini grunted out. "...I'll...I'll be all right in a few hours…"

"Why?" Tsubomi's eyes watered. "Why would you hurt yourself like that?"

"It was the only way to stop it from hurting someone else…" Gemini kept breathing. "The inn's...not far...let's go pick up your partner...so I don't have to...do that again…"

* * *

Makoto adjusted her sunglasses for the hundredth time since setting out from the inn for a day of fun and relaxation. The furo there wouldn't open until noon, but there were others in town, plus all sorts of little touristy 'attractions' including a small theme park. They had decided not to go to that, though, but were left with nothing to do but wander. And so, the four of them did.

Of course, there was something Makoto was wrestling with, and it seemed like about the right time to mention it. No one around but them, so there was little to no chance of it getting back to Gemini who almost certainly shouldn't hear it.

She took a deep breath and then Davi jumped up in front of her. "I sense darkness! A lot of it-davie!"

Makoto blinked. "I'll tell you girls later! Which way?"

"Most of it is in the town square-sharu!" With a nod, the four girls quickly rallied and transformed. They quickly made their way to the town square, but were surprised to find things seemed to have already been taken care of...well, in theory.

Cures Bloom, Egret, Windy, and Bright were already on the scene, bouncing around to avoid the gnashing teeth of three of the Jikochuu with seemingly the greatest ease. Sword watched as Egret_ floated_ onto a stop sign that one of the monsters crashed into, landing easily on a street lamp that was tall enough to shine light down on the statue in the middle of the square. "Bloom! Bright!"

With a cry of acknowledgement, they each grabbed one of the other lamps and pulled it out of the ground. Sword felt her jaw dropping, and looked to the others to see if she was going as delusional as it felt like. Seeing them equally stunned, she turned her attention back as Egret and Windy flew in circles around the Jikochuu, pulling them in tighter and tighter with kicks to push them to the center.

When there was no more room, both women leapt back to allow Bloom and Bright to swing their improvised weapons with their full might. The metal groaned and warped under the strain, wrapping around the Jikochuu and, with one last kick, becoming a tight ring holding the three together.

"Amazing," Sword managed to find her words first, and Bloom heard and looked over her shoulder.

"Hey, what kept ya?"

Mana shook her head out. "Uhm...nothing, we just didn't want to get in your way."

"Ah," Bloom chuckled. "Well, that's okay I guess, you can get the next ones."

"Eh?"

* * *

Elsewhere, Cure Berry was still running down the street. While she could easily evade the Jikochuu's jaws if she stayed in front of it, the thing was tireless. And Berry was quickly coming to the conclusion that, even with magic and her training schedule, she was not. If this kept up she knew she wouldn't make it.

And her cell phone was in her civilian form. Great. She couldn't take even a moment to change back to call for help. She quickly looked for an escape, and noticed that there were people_ everywhere_. Peeking out of their windows, stopping on the street to gawk. "What are you doing?! Get out of the way!"

No one paid attention. The cheers and calls for her to fight the monster reached her ears, and she realized_ They've only seen Precure fights on TV! The news edits things for time, they don't realize how long the fights take, or that they're dangerous!_ Berry kept moving, slowing down to make sure the lapine threat didn't lose interest in her.

She was just beginning to sweat when she heard a primal scream of terror. She started to skid to a halt, but the scream continued, and then Cure Peace turned the corner and ran straight into her before she could stop. The two Cures fell to the ground in a tangle of limbs splayed out at all angles. Berry rubbed her head. "Peace, don't your powers work?"

"Huh?! I just started running!" Peace shrieked. "The strange woman was scary, and then the teeth and the hopping and AHHH!" The pair were sent flying by a head-butt from the rabbit that had been chasing Peace.

"...Ji-ko-chuuuu," The deep voices came from both of the creatures simultaneously.

Berry looked at Peace incredulously, but it was obvious the girl was too spooked to be much help just yet. "Follow my lead!" She turned and ran for the town square. Peace swallowed her fear and managed to follow, the rabbits in hot pursuit.

* * *

Heart wiped the sweat from her brow. "Whew. That's fourteen,"

Diamond seemed considerably more winded, taking deep gasps of breath. "I don't know if we can keep this up. Sure, they're not packing the usual punch but there's so many of them!"

"Then we'll just have to keep fighting. Take a quick break Diamond," Cure Rosetta said, not unkindly but firmly. "How many more can there be?"

That was when the last thing any of them expected happened. A fairy, blue-bellied white with rabbit-like ears, was running up the street, screaming his head off.

Sword spun into action first, "Precure Sparkle Sword!" The small lances of energy found their targets, and moments later two more rabbits were hopping away from the Precure in confusion. "All right, who are you and what are you doing here?"

Heart sighed. "Sorry to be rude, but we're pretty busy here."

The fairy panted heavily. "I'm Mipple. Nagisa's friend-mipu."

Diamond nodded quickly. "Why are you out here by yourself?"

"I wasn't planning on it-mipu," the fairy snorted derisively. "But_ someone_ had their cell phones off-mipu!"

Rosetta stepped in, waving her hands in a placating gesture. "Now, now. What was Nagisa's message?"

"There's twenty of themipu!" he suddenly shouted, remembering. "They're all over the city!"

Heart quickly started ticking off on her fingers. "Well, most of them made their way here. It's not really a surprise, the whole town's designed to channel traffic through the town square..." She looked up. "Wait, do you hear something?"

"HAAAAAAAALLLLLLLLLP!" Regina screamed as she ran. "Jikochuu!" Sure enough, two more of the hutch were behind her. Heart pulled back on her bow. "Wait! Don't shoot me!"

Heart gulped nervously. "Sorry, forgot."

"How could you 'forget' a thing like_ that_?" Regina's eyes widened in panic as she looked at the girl, getting close. "Wait, NOW!"

"Lovely...SHOOT!" Regina hit the ground as the single arrow of magic purified the two rabbits that were gaining on her.

"Sorry about that." Regina sat up, rubbing some dirt off her sleeve.

Diamond gave her a look. "Why didn't you just use your magic?"

"Those are_ people!_ What do you want me to do, kill them?" Regina snapped. "Sorry, you didn't know. Yeah, my powers can make more and blast them just fine, but can't heal."

Diamond nodded slowly. "Right, I'm sorry too."

Sword frowned. "That's only 18, where's the..." Cure Berry and Cure Peace ran right behind her, her hair fluttering in the backwash from their passing. "...never mind."

"Precure Diamond Shower!" Diamond spun and tried to freeze the last of the Jikochuu in place...but missed. "EEP!"

"Luminous Hartiel Action!" An answering shout filled the square with rainbow light, and everyone turned to see the young woman with the long, flowing pigtails. Wand in hand, Shiny Lumionous grinned at the whole group. "There, see Sunshine? Right on time."

Sunshine glared at Luminous for a moment, but just shrugged. "Okay, that worked out." The Shiny Tambourine was in her hand a moment later, and the square filled with sunflowers and sparkling light with a cry of "Precure Gold Forte Burst!".

* * *

Nagisa sighed, snapping her cell shut. "Tomorrow morning. Unbelievable. And just to really make my month, those Jikochuu things know we're about to bow out with most of their usual opponents. Can this get any worse?" Because the universe has a sense of humor, that was when the door slid open, revealing Tsubomi mostly dragging Gemini through it. "..."

Tsubomi gasped, letting Gemini fall off her shoulder into a sitting position as gently as she could. "I'm sorry, we left Chypre and the others here and then these rabbits and Gemini activated my Perfume and..."

Gemini put a finger on Tsubomi's lips, looking pale and shaky. "It's all right, Blossom. I'm fine, really."

Nagisa shook her head. "All right, you've got my trust for now. Whatever you did out there you obviously took a big hit for it."

"Lovely," Gemini groaned, trying to force herself to stand and falling over after a shaky attempt. Tsubomi made a little 'eep' of dismay, prompting a laugh. "Blossom, I'm fine, really. Get your partner and get out there."

"Belay that," Nagisa interjected. "Without Honoka I'm down my powers. Looks like you're out of commission too. Me, not so important, but we'll_ need_ you on the other side. Tsubomi, you and the others stay in case this is a distraction."

Tsubomi was torn, a situation not helped when Gemini glared at her. "Don't listen to her. Regina can fix me up with the Commune, go."

"Stay." Nagisa said again. "Doesn't matter if she can make you throw the Jikochuu into orbit if she isn't here. Right now you're injured."

"Who cares?! " Gemini growled back. "Blossom, get going and help the others!"

Tsubomi shook her head. "No, Miss Misumi's right. I have to protect_ you_ most of all right now."

Gemini flopped back onto the tatami, defeated. "Can you at least get me to my room and on a futon?"

Nagisa chuckled. "That, I think we can manage..."

"...wait. Blossom, take my sword." Tsubomi blinked, but grabbed the weapon as instructed. "Just...just in case."

"Right." Tsubomi reached out to take hold of the weapon like it was going to bite her when Nagisa's cell phone rang.

"Hello..." Nagisa nodded. "Oh, good, I'll tell them," She hung up quickly. "That was Mana. She says the problem's taken care of."

"Oh, good." Gemini promptly passed out.


	6. Chapter 6

No one felt like celebrating the victory. Even though no one had been hurt, the afternoon had been a long one. Slowly, the girls just filed back into the inn, collecting their keys from the front desk and stretching out. Regina was the only one with any kind of energy at all. She looked up to see Nagisa staring at them, with a slightly hollow look in her eyes. "Geez, you look like you've just seen a ghost. You okay?"

"I am, but Gemini's not doing so well. Put her up in your room to sleep it off like she wa-" Nagisa trailed off as Regina flew up the stairs. Literally. "Don't fly in the inn!" she shouted after, before rubbing her forehead. "Great, covering_ this_ up is gonna be fun. But that's for later."

Makoto blinked. "Where's she going?"

Nagisa waved it off. "Gemini said something about Regina being able to use the Commune."

Makoto suddenly pasted on the biggest fake smile she could. "Mana, I think it's best to leave them to it. Want to join me in the private bath?"

"Eh?" Mana suddenly found herself being dragged off in the direction of the hot springs.

Hikari found herself chuckling. "Guess what they say about a good fight is true for some people. Still, I'm sure they'll be responsible. Shall we relax for a few hours before dinner?" Everyone stared at her. "What?"

* * *

"Makopi!" Mana shouted inidgnantly. "If you're trying to keep this a secret, you've just done a terrible job!"

"Why?"

Mana's voice went into a deadpan. "You just dragged me through the change room, into the private bath, slammed the door loudly, and all in our day clothes."

"Oh."

Mana shook her head. "Well, we're here, what is it?"

"Mana...have you noticed something off about Gemini?" Mana just narrowed her eyes. "...okay, dumb question. But...I mean, you're the one to ask, right?"

"Makopi, just tell me already."

"I think Gemini's a Jikochuu."

Mana blinked several times in utter bewilderment. As declarations went this one was. . . well, it wasn't quite out of sync with the rest of her life the past two days, but it was well into bizarre territory. "Makoto Kenzaki, let me get this straight. After telling me you could see where Gemini was just like me..."

"Yes."

The sudden declaration cutting her off managed to shock Mana into a reaction. "Why would she do all this if she's a Jikochuu?"

Makoto sighed. "I don't think she knows. It's mostly Regina's behavior. She's very protective, even against things that she really shouldn't be."

Mana thought about it for a moment, eyes looking down at the floor. "And the last straw was that Regina can't heal humans or turn Jikochuu back..."

"...but she can heal Gemini." Makoto confirmed.

Mana thought about it for a moment. "No, that's not the only explanation, or even the most likely one." Makoto opened her mouth to voice a protest, but Mana ploughed on through. "She's just using Regina's Jikochuu powers. It makes sense that her magic would be a little like that. Regina. . . it's really hard to explain, but remember how ours was when she first decided to be my friend?"

Makoto narrowed her eyes. "I remember she tried to blow up the school, sealed Rikka's mouth shut for several hours and only narrowly missed her nose, and then decided to kill everyone who had the slightest demand on your time."

Mana blushed slightly. "Yeah, that was a bit of a learning experience for everyone. But the point is, she wasn't doing it to_ hurt you_."

Makoto stared incredulously. "Mana, of course she was trying to hurt us!"

"No." Mana said firmly. "She was trying to_ help me._ She just didn't care who got hurt in the process until I made her care."

"Are you sure?" Makoto paused. "I guess it kinda makes sense, but it seems like you're splitting hairs awfully fine."

"I'm sure. And I'm sure it's the same thing." Mana said. "She's just being overprotective because Gemini's been hurt, badly."

"I'd still like to have a little more than guesses."

Mana thought for a moment. "Okay, let's go ask Regina. Quietly."

* * *

"NO!" Mana's hair flew back out of its' ponytail at the force of Regina's shout. "GEMINI IS FINE! THERE IS NOTHING WRONG WITH HER! DO YOU UNDERSTAND!? _**NOTHING!**_" The Jikochuu princess stormed off, barely remembering to keep her feet on the ground in the public space, but each footfall resounding through the whole inn.

"Okay, that was not normal." Mana conceded. "What do we do?"

"We should tell her," Makoto said quietly, guiltily.

Mana frowned. "Does it matter?"

"Wouldn't you want to know?"

"Know what?" Gemini asked from a spot right behind the pair.

Mana jumped up about five feet straight. "Nothing. Something about a boy Rikka likes."

"Huh. Thought she was as straight as I am." Gemini shrugged. "I'll keep that in mind. Well, whatever helps you girls out. I'm gonna go to the baths again before dinner."

Mana nodded. "Good idea. We just came from there."

Gemini smirked over her shoulder. "I know, everyone was talking about it. None of my business, though. Just remember to smile for the cameras." Mana found herself spluttering as her counterpart sauntered off.

Makoto let out a breath she hadn't known she was holding. "How the heck did she miss that tantrum?"

"I don't think she did." Mana sighed as she was brought back to the real issue. "She's just ignoring it. And...I'm not sure I'd want to know or not."

"Mana..."

"I'm really not. First, what can we tell her? That Regina's hiding something? I mean, it's Regina, she's probably hiding a few things. Second, well, so what if she's..." Mana searched for a word that wouldn't be insulting, but lamely found herself settling on "...different?"

"It could mean she's just based on your other self, or something," Makoto pointed out. "She has a right to know if she's real or not."

"She's real." Mana said firmly. "Whatever she is, she's Gemini. Everything else is details."

* * *

Regina slammed her fist into the wall of her room. "Damn. They've figured it out. I have to hurry this up."

A knock at the door interrupted that train of thought. "Hey, kid, can I come in?" She froze for a moment before realizing it was Nagisa. "We need to have a quick chat."

"...all right."

Nagisa opened the door, closed it behind her, and pointedly locked it. "Three things. One, gonna tell me what the shouting was about?"

"...do I have to?"

Nagisa thought about it for a moment. "Does it have any direct effect on what we're going about doing?"

Regina thought quickly "...only one. Gemini's Precure powers come from me, so what do you think happens if one of your attacks hits her?"

Nagisa shrugged. "Okay, I'll buy that. Probably won't kill her, but it's bound to be a bad day all around." She noted Regina's wince at that, but chose not to say anything further. "Two, how's your power level? I've been paying attention to what's been going on on this side, and frankly you don't seem to pack the punch your counterpart does. You're making up for it, but. . . well, what do you need?"

Regina winced again. "I need. . . something. Something nice. It's so_ hard, _trying to be a good person when you need to take things and be jealous just to keep going."

"So you've found a balance that lets you function, but you're almost more human than Youkai in some ways." Nagisa frowned. "Here." Regina stared as Nagisa took off her jacket, revealing a shoulder holster and . . .

"A pistol?" Regina blinked. "I'd rather not. I shouldn't."

Nagisa chuckled and pulled it out. Regina noted the large barrel with fascination. Were she more familiar, she'd recognize the barrel as being more suited to a shotgun. "Latest model, I don't think even the police have these yet. Only holds three rounds. If you'd prefer I can have Honoka bring up a shotgun and some more ammo."

Regina shook her head. "Ma'am," the Jikochuu girl took in a deep breath to buy a moment to think. "I shouldn't kill. I don't know what would happen to me."

"Stun rounds." Nagisa clarified. "Not one-hundred-percent, but as long as you hit you'll at least stop a human for a few moments."

"...that could work," Regina conceded. "Yeah, bring the shotgun. Those should work on Precure too."

Nagisa winced. "We can hope."

Regina mumbled out an apology before looking up. "What was the third thing?"

"What do you think the enemy's game plan is going to be?" Nagisa asked, seriously. "I mean the Jikochuu on this side."

"Ira was here. Not the brightest bulb, but he knows how to save his own skin. If he was the only one, we've got a day, maybe more before he lets it slip. If more of them were involved, they'll attack tomorrow morning, and won't let up."

Nagisa frowned. "And it's too late to abort now. Honoka's finished. We're just packing it up to fly it here. It's too big for the bookshelves or Setsuna, and Honoka was going on and on about 'unstable compounds.'"

"Shit!" Nagisa winced at the sudden swear-word. "That thing's based on YTF magitech. 'Unstable' usually rhymes with 'explosive.'"

Nagisa went pale. "I'm sure Honoka and Sebastian have taken precautions..."

"Beautiful. Just beautiful." Regina groaned. "And it's just Ace right now. Five minutes. . . can you do anything with that?"

"I think so." Nagisa pulled out a tablet. "It'll depend, but. . . yeah, I know who to hand this plan off to."

Regina nodded. "Good. Don't tell the others until we're gone, then get back to Tokyo as fast as possible."

"Will do, kid."

* * *

Yuri stood in the middle of a clearing in the woods. The summer had been unnaturally warm, and even though it was almost mid-morning she was sweating in the shade. Tsubomi was with her as well, looking at some diagrams on a tablet provided by Honoka before they'd left. "Hey, Tsubomi, you done?" she asked, taking a drink out of her water bottle.

"Almost!" Tsubomi confirmed. "I think we can proceed, I just sent off a message to Honoka and Sebastian. These plants here are kind of uncommon, I was asking if we could make adjustments so the generator won't be blasting over them."

"And?"

The tablet beeped, and a quick glance confirmed "No. Honoka doesn't want to deviate from the schematics on the off chance the positioning is important."

"Well, people are going to have to use this thing without a test run," Yuri pointed out. "Besides, they'll be here any minute and the portal can only be open for a few hours. This is no time to be making last-minute changes."

"I know, I know…" Tsubomi looked like she wanted to elaborate, but the sound of a helicopter coming up cut her off. "It's them!"

They dutifully backed out of the clearing, and the helicopter appeared overhead. Hanging underneath was a wire-frame structure with a number of satelite dishes hanging off of it. Wires, Jacob's ladders, and a number of things Yuri didn't care to guess at had been left dangling. The dubious device was lowered into place, the cable holding it released, and then a rope ladder lowered and Honoka climbed down into the clearing, a helmet on her head and Mepple on her shoulder. A quick wave sent the helicopter off, and once it was at a safe distance she removed the helmet and put on her glasses. "All right, looks good. Sebastian's rented a spot to put it down. He'll fetch the others and be here shortly."

Yuri nodded. "The generator isn't quite here yet, but Nagisa said she'd bring it up. We should be ready to go at noon."

"Excellent. I'm eager to see if it works!" Both girls stared at her. "Well, I can hardly test it in Tokyo, can I?"

* * *

Everyone was assembled. Those with any technical inclination at all were looking over the setup, but it wouldn't be long before they gave it a shot. Mana bit her lip, suddenly realizing what that bit about giving a speech really meant.

In movies it was all dramatic gestures and inspired confidence. But here...it would just be passing the time. Keeping everyone from losing their nerve. "Guys!" Everyone stopped milling about. "I've...we've never done anything like this before. I know we don't know what to expect, but we've got to be ready for it.

"We won't be alone. Gemini and Regina have an extensive list of people who have left the YTF. People with the power to fight back. We just need to find them and show them the way.

"Once we have that, we'll need to do something that everyone on the other side says is impossible - find a way into the YTF, and get their deepest, darkest secrets. The people they hurt in the name of their 'security.' And we_ will_.

"We will. Because if we don't, they'll come to us, make our world like theirs. Afraid. Well, I'm not afraid of them. They're just bullies, and the only way to beat a bully is to stand up to them."

Nagisa stepped up. "We still have a few minutes. This is going to be dangerous, so if you have a message for your families, in case you don't come back. . . "

Everyone nodded, and one by one most walked up and handed them to her. Some on flash sticks, a few on their soon-to-be-useless cell phones. Nagisa nodded. "Very well, Honoka?"

"We're ready."

There were no dramatic calls for transformation, simply a flash of light, and when it subsided there were Precure where ordinary girls and women had been a moment before. Without a word, Blossom, Marine, Sunshine, Moonlight, and Peace took up positions around the portal.

Tsubomi spoke. "Heartcatch Mirage. One more time, we call on your power to help us save this world." The music box appeared, floating serenely over the portal. It opened of its' own accord, and energy gently flowed from its' center in a fountain into the four girls who were attuned to it, empowering them, their skirts flowing out into long dresses. Each pointed a finger solemnly at a point on the device, and it began to glow. A swirl of light appeared, looking like a soft blue whirlpool that stretched ever-so-slowly from the edges to the center.

Peace stepped up nervously. "Precure...Peace THUNDER!" Her lightning strike hit the top of the portal, and arcs of energy started to form all over the makeshift contraption's surface, lightning arcing all around...and then the image formed, of a large clearing and the woods off in the distance. The sound of a generator started.

Gemini nodded. "It's working." There was no elation. "Everyone who's going, GO!"

Honoka shouted. "You have one hour before the portal overloads! I'll open another one at the base of Tokyo Tower in one week!"

"Got it!" Heart gave a thumbs up as eleven Precure and one youkai stepped through.

* * *

The scene on the other side was chaos. Gemini was first on her feet, spinning about at the sudden noise, only to swiftly go pale.

It wasn't just the sight of the trees surrounding the clearing having been chopped down, although that was certainly part of it. Nor was it the row after row of neat, canvas tents, easily large enough to constitute a base of some kind. The dark green camouflage coloring of everything was closer, but not quite right.

Instead it was the people. The taller ones, maybe comprising three quarters of the group that she could see, were obvious JSDF ground forces soldiers. Young, fresh-faced, and many (though, oddly, not most) with a rifle slung over their shoulders. She met the eyes of one older gentleman, and they both stared at each other in shock for several moments.

Regina, along with Heart and her friends, were the next to land, and almost as quickly assessed the situation. Gemini, however, was pinned in place by the sight of the girls. Precure. Artificial Precure. Almost fifty of them. And they were already shaking off their surprise and going for the small heart pendants around their necks. "Oh SHIT!"

Bloom, Egret, Windy, and Bright came through and stared at the declaration while Gemini was bringing her sword around. "They found us! Run for it!"

Regina stood protectively in front of Dream and Moonlight, the last to arrive. She brought her new toy up, an assault shotgun. She held it in place for a moment, then realized that people were running past her. "What are you doing!?"

Heart glanced over her shoulder. "It's only fifty of them, right? We'll be fine!"

Gemini turned the air around her blue with her cussing at that statement. "Heart, you idiot! Get out of here!"

A voice called out that stalled_ everyone_ in their tracks. "Cure Heart. That's not a name I've heard in awhile…" The crowd in the camp parted, and she was standing there. Black leather miniskirt with a lace trim, low-cut bodice of the same material, silver bracers on her wrists, and light blue hair allowed to flow wild and free. "But it's all the same to me what you choose to call yourself," she said coldly, before she took in the situation. "Two?" She stared at Heart. When she spoke, it was with something akin to disbelief, hope, and dread all in one "...Mana?"

Mana blinked at the reaction. "Cure Rune?"

"The portal. You're…" Rune shook it off, shouting commands to the back. "Leave those two to me. Take Rosetta_ alive!_" She glanced coldly around. "I'm sorry. I don't recognize anyone else. I can't vouch for you. If you surrender now, you won't be . . . " her eyes landed on Shiny Luminous. "Oh fuck me! The Destroyer!"

Luminous' jaw dropped at that declaration. "What? What did you say?!"

"Kill her!" Rune called. "Before she awakens! I don't know how she got here, but KILL HER!"

Heart had heard enough. "Love Heart Arrow!" Rune stopped dead in her tracks as the duplicates of the people she knew pulled out. . . something. "It looks like you've lost your love as well…"

"...we're done with silly catchphrases," Rune snarled. "What the hell do you think you're doing, leaving THAT alive!?" The two charged at each other, Rune being a fraction of a second faster, a punch flying out that Heart was only barely able to block, but holding off the other Cure easily enough. "It can destroy everything!"

"I'll thank you to refer to Luminous as a_ person_!" Heart replied, punctuating it with a kick that landed on Rune's ribs. Rune winced and took a step back.

"You're Mana." Rune conceded. "You're really Mana." Then her amazment slowly turned to anger. "What are you doing, listening to that. . . that thing? That thing that stole you from me?"

Mana winced at the change in tone. "You did that yourself."

Rune's eyes widened, and then she screamed with terror and fury, black and white energy coiling up around her body.

* * *

Luminous jumped into the air, narrowly avoiding the small blasts of fire and ice that flowed around her at Rune's command. She landed and found herself having to jump again right away when more energy seemed to be aimed at her. She stared and realized that, whatever had spooked Rune, it didn't seem to have affected the Artificial Cures as strongly.

They were just going to follow the order.

_They're humans! Why are they_ doing_ this?! _Luminous braced herself for the impact, summoning her barrier. Unfortunately, four force bolts collided against it at once, and shattered it. She cried out in pain as she took the hits and fell to the ground. _...should I not have come_?

Still more magical fire was starting to come at her, and there was no way her barrier could stop that much - it wasn't the greatest of her powers. She struggled for a moment to stand, but it looked like she was about to die. _Nagisa...Honoka….I'm sorry._

Of course, there was a Precure present for whom her barrier was_ not_ her weakest power "Rosetta Reflection!" The Artificials spent several moments beating on the barrier, before one of the white-clad ones called out "Hold fire! We have to take Rosetta alive, remember! Greens!"

Luminous managed to stand up just in time for one of the green Artificals to run around the barrier. She punted the poor girl wildly, which didn't seem to cause too much damage but literally sent her flying over the horizon. The display didn't stop them, though, and soon she was being overwhelmed by the remaining nineteen. While Rosetta tried to stay close in the chaos, it was clear the Greens were pushing them bodily apart so that the others would have a clear shot.

"But I'm not done yet…."

* * *

Diamond and Sword circled around the camp, amazed that they were being ignored to focus on Luminous. Diamond had returned Rosetta's nervous nod and took advantage of the situation to get around.

She glanced at Sword. "...this is it."

Sword nodded grimly. "...if you can't…"

Diamond shook her head. "...I will."

"I don't think so." A third voice, an older gentleman, said calmly. A small click followed. "Please don't move, ladies. This pistol is loaded with special depleted uranium rounds. Heavy, short range, but designed specifically to deal with girls like you."

Diamond raised her hands and turned around, regarding the man. "Sorry, I don't know how I'm supposed to tell your rank…."

"General." He said. "Now, I really do apologize girls, but I'm afraid I have my orders. There's a war on, and all that."

Sword's eyes narrowed. "A war you're starting."

"Not that one, although you_ are_ doing a rather deplorable job. Someone needs to step in." The General said quietly. He flicked his pistol to the side. "Now, if you'll just quietly step along, we'll get in my van and my driver can take us back to town."

"And if we refuse?" Diamond asked, eyes narrowed.

He just shrugged. "Then I shoot you."

Sword didn't hesitate, slamming her foot into his groin 'gently' before spinning the gun out of his hand. The gun went off suddenly, missing both girls and firing into the crowd before Sword got it out of his hands and reversed it. "On the ground, now!"

Diamond's eyes were wide. "How . . . how did you. . . ?"

"It's just like a knife," Sword shrugged. "He said it was short-ranged, what could it have hit?"

* * *

Moonlight found herself back-to-back with Bloom and Bright. They were surrounded, maybe twenty of the energy-wielders distracted by just the three of them. "So, what do you think of these Artificial Precure so far?" she asked mildly.

Bright was somewhat cool, glancing them over with disdain. "They should have brought more."

"It does seem rather strange," Moonlight conceded. "Looks like about five for each of us."

"Oh, right, you're here too." Bloom grinned. "For a moment I thought you wanted to see what I could do."

Moonlight shook her head. "Don't get cocky."

With that, they struck. Moonlight herself decided to focus on physical strikes, efficiently bringing them down in a single blow to a vital point to try to avoid wasting energy. The boasting had seemed pointlessly childish to her - she knew better than the others what a moment's carelessness could cost.

She glanced over her shoulder to see Bloom going for a fancy acrobatic jump that would leave her vulnerable. A moment later a shot rang out, and her enhanced senses detected a slight wave of pressure like a thrown knife (or charged playing card) moments_ after_ it had happened.

Bright screamed. Bloom's eyes widened as she saw several droplets of blood in the air. She fell to the ground in an awkward heap.

* * *

It had been so long since Windy could just_ cut loose_ like this. She had long since lost the power to fly without her Cure powers, and there really wasn't much call for random transformations. Egret leaping over the crowds to draw fire was also glorious.

She knew she would have to deal with it eventually. She toned down her magical strikes, those were still people behind those colorful masks. But for the moment, it almost felt like she could enjoy herself again.

Egret was with her as well - Egret couldn't really_ fly_ per se, but her aerial acrobatics and high leaps were almost good enough. The pair of veterans gave each other a thumbs-up and prepared to fire another volley.

Suddenly, her vision was interrupted by a pair of black angel wings flapping dangerously close to her face. The sound of metal impacting metal was far too close. She looked up into Gemini's worried expression. "Don't worry about the Cures, the soldiers are the real threat here."

"What?" Egret called out, only to hear a gunshot. Windy stared at the sudden appearance of blood coming from her friend's stomach.

"NO!" Windy screamed and flew to catch Egret, who was falling from the sky. She tried to pick up speed, Gemini folding in her wings and diving even faster...but not fast enough.

Egret landed on the ground, curled up next to Cure Bloom, and tried desperately to ignore the pain and stand.

* * *

Cure Dream had been fighting her way through the Greens to try to get to the back row, but her powers had never really been as physical as some of the others. And her magic wasn't designed to work on humans. She wasn't really sure what would happen if she tried that.

The end result was that she was rapidly tripped and tossed at high speed into a very large tent. In a way, it was almost peaceful, right up until her head impacted against something really hard and knocked her silly for a few moments. When she recovered her senses and looked up, she could feel the blood drain from her face as she was able to comprehend what she was seeing.

She was face-to-knee with Cure Peace's power armor. And its' eyes had taken on an eerie yellow glow in the dim light of the tent.

"Oh, wow!" However, the squeaky, over-excited voice coming from the death machine's external speakers choked off the expletive Dream was sure she'd have uttered otherwise. "You're Cure Dream, right!? I never thought I'd really meet you, being . . . well, Nightmare and all..." Dream winced at the mention, and was about to interject, but the girl went prattling on. "Can I get your autograph? Only I left my book back in Tokyo, so I'd have to go a really long way. I hope you don't mind!"

Dream grinned. "Not at all! Please, take your time!"

Peace started dancing in excitement, a really odd sight given the face that she was in a mecha. For a moment, Dream dared to hope that something that silly had worked, before the robot stopped, turned, and stared at her. "...saaay...are you one of those mirror-Precure? Because Nightmare...yeah, I bet you are."

Dream slowly gulped. "...uhm...yes."

"Oh! Well, I'd still like your autograph, but I guess we don't have time for that before I have to blow you up."

Dream paled even further_. Dear kami, she's_ insane. Slowly, Dream took a couple of steps back. "Now, Yayoi, you don't have to do that. . . "

"Oh, you're surrendering? Good. Didn't really wanna." Peace's 'head' cocked' "...or are you just going to beg for me to let you go?"

Dream winced. "Uhm, I was thinking more along the lines of a negotiated settlement."

"Not my job!" Peace grinned. "I'm really sorry about that, but work's work."

Dream winced. "Wait, you don't like your job?"

"Are you kidding? Most of the time it's awesome!" Peace started dancing again. "I get to beat up the bad guys who are trying to destroy the world just like in all the old manga! And when I'm off, they let me outside the Quarantine Zone to paint! I can't take the armor of course, but it's perfectly safe!" Dream found her attention being drawn to some beautiful landscapes hanging in the corner to dry. She didn't know art, but they looked good to her eye. She almost missed it when Peace began to mutter "...safe...right...it's safe..."

Dream nodded. "We're not here to hurt you."

Peace stopped cold at that. ". . . . I. . . . yeah, I know you aren't, but you're going to anyway. So . . . I'm sorry, but it's surrender, or. . . " Dream's eyes widened as the mech's miniguns began to spin with a decidedly ominous hum.

* * *

Heart heard the gunshot go off, but she really didn't have time to contemplate it. Each of Rune's punches was charged with magic and an unholy fury. But even worse was the eyes. Heart could see that it was Rikka's face, but there seemed to be nothing left of the friend Mana had known since she could remember anything.

And even worse was the accusation. "How_ dare_ you! I was the only one who could_ see_ what that thing was doing to us! I was trying to_ save_ them!" Heart found herself being pummeled as first one fist, then another slipped past her guard. "Mana, you're so kind!" A punch to her solar plexus expelled the air from her lungs. "I don't blame you for being taken in by those monsters! I! Really! _Don't!_" The last was punctuated in particular by a vicious throw into the ground. Finally, Rune's immediate fury seemed expended and she looked down at Heart. ". . . even when I heard about the Dimensional Search initiative and what it had found, I never thought I'd see you again like this."

Heart finally caught her breath. "Rikka..."

"No...please." Rune shed a single tear, wiping it out of her eyes. "You didn't listen to me the first time. Please, at least listen now."

"We don't have time."

"You'll make time." Rune said simply, before she took a deep breath. "This world isn't like the one you left at all. I don't know what they told you, but the rules are different here. They have been for years. I can already tell you're stronger than Mana was when. . . when things happened. Those bow things, they amplify your powers? We don't get those here." Rune whispered. "We don't have a choice. We have to get our power how we can, and that usually is just numbers." Mana winced at the implication. ". . . helpful, sweet Mana," the girl above her continued, growing wistful. "Maybe you actually have the strength to stand up to the monsters,_ make_ them behave. But she didn't. She was losing herself. Lost herself, in the end. Gemini is just another monster..."

"She's...she's a person." Heart stubbornly tried to get to her feet as she spoke, gasping for breath.

Rune's fist hit the top of her skull, knocking her back to the ground. "_Gemini _is wanted in Kanto prefecture alone on two dozen counts of aggravated assault, inciting a riot, and looting almost ten million yen in goods from a department store after a typhoon!" Mana's eyes widened at the news while Rune grinned viciously. "Didn't think they told you that part. She's a known associate of the Yakuza. She beats up the occasional monster, sure. But she's just a pale shadow of what Mana should be, when she's not operating on the level of a superpowered thug."

_No...I don't believe it..._ Mana forced herself to stand, and this time Rune allowed her to. "You're twisting the truth around, and you know it. She's living alone in these mountains, with no one supporting her but her friends and no legal avenue to get things. Of course she turned to crime, it's only natural." It was Rune's turn now to stare in disbelief. "They're alone. . . until now. I won't leave just because they got desperate enough to do some things that you don't think are right. Especially when I can't say I wouldn't do the same."

Rune stared in disbelief. "You would never, never be so. . . so. . . "

"Desperate? So hungry and lonely I'd do anything?" Heart shook her head. "I've never been in that position, and neither have you. But people who have been in a bad spot like that. . . they have been known to do far worse. They need_ help_ Rune. They need their_ friend_ back."

"I'm not their friend!" Rune screeched. "Aida Mana is_ dead!_ Oh, sure, she's still shuffling about, but it's a mockery of everything you were! Why can't you see that?!"

"I see what you want me to see," Heart sighed, raising up an arm to block the next punch. "I'm just not believing it."

* * *

The sound of the gunshot and Egret falling from the sky had re-energized the main body of the Precure. Luminous was continually being pushed back by her desire not to hurt these girls. She drew out her Heart Baton, but simply could not get enough room to use it without a punch or a kick or a magical blast or a tree branch or_ something_ forcing her to move again.

And worse yet, she was forced to note that the camp's soldiers, who hadn't been expecting a whole bunch of magical girls to materialize in the middle of their camp, had finally managed to get their equipment from wherever it had been stowed for travel and were starting to aim rifles at her. She gulped, also realizing that they weren't aiming at anyone_ else_.

In desperation, she threw up her shield, but that quickly took a pounding and was shattered by still more magic. She tried to leap to a clearer spot, but quickly realized that was a bad idea when the gunfire started - her shield barely deflecting it, and she landed awkwardly.

Luminous tried to stand, but her ankle had twisted and she needed a few moments to recover. Moments the Artificial Precure standing over her obviously weren't willing to give. She closed her eyes, waiting for the inevitable.

"Precure Diamond Shower!" The cry from Cure Diamond was the sweetest sound Luminous had ever heard, or so she thought at that moment, when the Artificials who had been about to finish her were frozen to the spot.

Luminous dared to open her eyes and look around...but she wasn't able to stand, and the soldiers were still focused on her, looking for a clear shot through their Precure allies. "Diamond! Look out!" Several troops had drawn a bead on the blue Cure.

"Precure Rosetta Reflection!" The gunshots came moments too late, a much stronger barrier of yellow energy surrounding the three while Cure Rosetta landed in front of her to provide even more protection. Rosetta looked over her shoulder. "Luminous, are you all right?"

Luminous nodded. "I twisted my ankle a bit, but it'll be fine in a moment." Shakily, she got to her feet while the gunfire continued to pound away at their defense. Rosetta was grinning, but it came across to Luminous as a bit forced. "Are you all right?"

"This isn't much." Rosetta said. "Take the time you need, although it'd be really helpful if you could do whatever it is you were trying to do when I drop the barrier."

* * *

Gemini landed in front of the wounded Cures, spreading her wings out and low as a shield. Everyone instinctively backed away from the black-and-purple aura that suddenly surrounded her. "You know, I've been patient with you girls…" The aura started to channel into her weapon, the white light being replaced from the bottom slowly to the top. "You think you're doing the right thing. But now it ends. Surrender and run. NOW!"

A jet of flame singed several of Gemini's feathers in answer.

"Okay," Gemini sounded, for just a moment, defeated. She brought her weapon up. Her next words were filled with a kind of self-loathing dread. "I'll kill all of you in one shot." She braced herself and brought the weapon back. "Gemini….."

A hand wrapped around her wrist, and Gemini looked back at Moonlight, shocked. "What are you doing?"

"We don't have to kill them, just hold them off." She glanced back. "Bright! Windy! Get your friends back through the portal, now!"

Egret was on her knees, trying to painfully stand. "I...I can see this through…"

"You need us…" Bloom was doing a bit better, but not much.

Gemini shook her head. "Go."

They nodded, as Moonlight pulled out her Tact. "I've never used this on humans before, but Blossom has. Let's see how well they fight after...this." The pointed it at a number of Artificials who had started to circle around Gemini's protection. A 'flower' of silver light appeared with no incantation, and washed over the girls. Which was suddenly an apt description, because on top of their blissful expressions, the magical powers behind their costumes seemed to be disrupted, first leaving them naked (although hidden by the light of their magic) and then in a wide variety of well-tailored street clothes.

Gemini stared at the reversal, then at Moonlight, and_ grinned_. "All right. Cut loose, Moonlight. I'll just kill anyone who's too stubborn to take the hint."

Moonlight glared at the cavalier remark, but pointed her tact at the next group….

* * *

Dream scrambled over a tank to try to buy herself a moment of cover, screaming and covering her ears at the sound of bullets impacting against the armor behind her.

"This is so disappointing!" Peace shouted over the din. "I used to really look up to you you know!"

Dream stuck her head out briefly. "I'm sorry I'm not used to fighting a girl who thinks miniguns are a good conversation starter!" She quickly yanked herself back when the bullets focused on her and crept over to the other side of the tank.

"Would it hurt you to come out and face me like a real hero?" Peace asked, spraying down the tank some more.

"..uh, yes?"

Peace seemed to pause to consider this for a moment, but just then the weapons started to spin down. "...aww, out of ammo." Dream grinned, until suddenly the tank she was standing just behind developed a hole the size of her head through the middle with a deafening thud.

She ducked and ran out and under a different tank, crawling between the treads in an effort to make it look like she'd broken and ran.

Peace slowly stalked along, each impact of her feet audible over the distant sounds of the main fight. "Oh Dreeeaaaam. I know you're still here! You wouldn't run out on me, would you?" Dream gulped, very desperately wishing she could, when suddenly the vehicle over her was gently lifted out of the way. "Oh, there you are!" Dream's eyes widened, and the rails of the railgun extended from Peace's other hand. An aperture opened in it to reveal the next round. "But Hide and Seek isn't much fun…"

"How about a water fight?" A new voice said calmly. "Precure Espoir Shower!" Cure Berry's magical attack, this time enhanced by a blue wand, splashed over Peace's hand. Literally, flowing into the powered armor's internals.

Time seemed to stop for a moment, and then Peace laughed. "Seriously? That was your plan? You didn't think we could build a mecha that was_ waterproof?_" She continued to laugh for a minute. "Oh, and I've charged the capacitors. Oh well. Goodbye, Miss Dream."

Sparks flew from the railgun arm...but something was wrong. The electricity arced backwards, up into the arm and armor. "AHHHHHH!" Peace's scream wasn't one of pain, but sheer panic as the mecha's head popped off and she was sent flailing into the atmosphere.

"She really does run at the first sign of trouble." Berry noted in astonishment. Dream couldn't quite help but agree.

* * *

Heart and Rune broke from another exchange of blows, panting with the exertion. Rune looked up. "Mana," she tried again. "...why? Why do you believe those two over me?"

Heart shook her head. "Rune, you've brought up some good questions, and I'm not just dismissing that. But try to look at it from my point of view. Regina's been . . . well, not a perfect model of polite behavior, but_ both_ versions of her are trying." She shook her head. "The facts we could check with Gemini worked out, and what you're saying doesn't." Rune paled as Heart glared. "And last time I checked, Gemini wasn't looking to attack my home town!"

Rune snarled. "What do you_ expect us to do Mana!?"_ she screamed. "You're too kind! We're too powerful! Cure Black and Cure White nearly destroyed our world with that attitude! Not the city! The_ world!_ We can't have that kind of threat out there!"

Heart winced. "So come with us. Don't just shout at me. We can discuss this, but I'm not going to let you intimidate me."

"You brought the Destroyer with you." Rune shook her head. "I can't agree to that when you insist on negotiating with a time bomb standing next to us."

Heart looked down. "Then we can't talk. I won't tell her to leave."

"I can't let her leave. She has to die."

Heart's head snapped back up. "That's what I'm talking about. There's always another way!"

Rune looked up herself. "Not here. Not now."

A flash of silver flew between the pair, and Rune's eyes widened as she saw what was taking advantage of the hole created by Moonlight's latest attack. Bright and Windy were carrying the injured Bloom and Egret back towards the portal, pursued by the Artificial Cures. Rune looked to Heart. "I see now. That was your plan. You've lost, Cure Heart. Hand over the Destroyer and I'll let the rest of you go home. I'll…" she looked for a moment as if she were ripping out her own heart. "...take Regina and Gemini with you, and I promise our world will never bother you again."

Heart's glare could have melted steel. "You can't keep that promise."

"I have more power than you think. Just take the deal, before I change my mind. _Please!_" Rune's voice cracked. "If you don't. . . Mana, you_ died_ once already this way. Doesn't that bother you?"

". . . what?" Heart stopped in confusion, lowering her guard. "Rune, Gemini's over there."

"_**THAT ISN'T YOU!**_" Rune snapped. "Stop saying it is! Stop saying that!"

"..." Heart's arms came back up into a defensive position again. "Rikka, what happened to you?"

Rune screamed back. "If you won't listen, I'll just start killing your friends until you do!" A large ice crystal formed between her hands, and she threw it at the Cures who were approaching from the direction of the main camp.

"Rosetta Wall!" Rosetta and Luminous landed between them, throwing up their barriers in response to defend them. Sword came next, leaping out of the sky, but Rune was ready for this and grabbed her by the leg, tossing her away.

"Twinkle Diamond!" Diamond landed directly behind Rune, throwing her own frozen energy blast at her counterpart.

Rune turned to block it with a wall of ice, then stared at her counterpart. "...even...even you?"

Diamond stared in utter disbelief. "I heard….who or what_ are_ you?"

"Please. You worry about Mana too! I know you do!" Rune's body was trembling. "Tell her!"

"If course I worry," Diamond confirmed "but Mana just wants to help. I try to take care of her as best I can…"

Rune looked like she was about to speak, but movement out of the corner of her eye caught her attention. The escaping Cures had reached the portal, and were jumping through. Rune sagged, backing away a bit.

Dream and Berry landed right behind her. Dream shook her head. "...are you all right?" she asked the suddenly shaking Rune.

"...why?" Rune asked, looking up at the older Cure. "...why did you have to be good people? You were supposed to be monsters…"

Dream shook her head. "No one's all bad. We just need to understand each other."

Rune shoved the pair out of the way and started running back towards the crowd of Artificials, ignoring even as she passed Gemini and Moonlight.

Gemini landed next to Heart. "...what did you say to her?"

Heart shook her head. "Not now…" She looked to the mob of masked magical girls.

Sword rejoined the group, looking on with cold determination "...we need to finish this."

* * *

Everyone on the other side was showing signs of nervousness at the turn of events on the other side. Tsubomi wringing her hands nervously, Itsuki playing with her hair, and even Erika was chewing on her blouse. Nagisa stared at the scene visible through the portal. "This is unbelievable!"

Honoka made a small noise of agreement, hands flying over the small laptop serving as the portal's control device. "Bad news, the portal's not going to last much longer. Five minutes at most."

"What? We said we'd give them an hour!" Yayoi was the surprise response. "We don't know, maybe they can turn it around, but if they can't…"

Nagisa spun around to stare in disbelief at Honoka. "They need more time! This is going to hell!"

Honoka's reply was an uncharacteristically nasty "There isn't much more I can do,_ agent! _We had to take some shortcuts to get it done this fast..."

Sebastian worked on a component that was sparking. "I'm attempting to bypass."

Honoka shook her head. "No good. Try to get them back here, we'll make another attempt in a week."

Nagisa looked back up at the fight. The remaining girls were being surrounded in a semi-circle again, and it looked like the injured would barely make it. "...Mepple. Mipple." The two faeries looked up from their spots, startled. "We're going through."

Honoka nearly dropped the laptop. "Nagisa! You're supposed to be in charge here!"

"Tsubomi!" the woman shouted. "Take over."

"...We're really doing this-mepo?" one of the faeries asked, slightly nervously.

"Yeah, Mepple." Nagisa sighed. "Oh well, it should probably always have been us from the start."

"I didn't really want to leave Hikari behind anyway-mipo!"

Honoka nodded. "All right. Mai and the others should just make it. Sebastian, take over the laptop."

Nagisa stood in front of the portal and took her old partner's hand.

"DUAL AURORA WAVE!"

* * *

Heart glanced around at the semi-circle of opponents around them, and glanced at Moonlight nervously as the last remaining veteran. "Not good."

"No. I can disable them, but they just keep shaking it off and transforming right back. . . "

Gemini glanced around. "Hope Regina got away. . . . " No such luck. One of the Whites held up a semi-conscious Regina over the heads of the rest of the crowd, a hand up against her head in a threatening gesture.

Gemini lowered her sword. "Let her go."

The White smirked. "You're not in any position to be making demands, Gemini. Drop all your weapons, magic wands, and any other tricks you might be holding onto." Gemini hesitated for a moment, and the White squeezed Regina's neck, eliciting a sharp yelp of pain from the girl. The talismans couldn't hit the ground fast enough after that. "Good. Kill them."

Heart's eyes widened. "WHAT?!"

"You really think we're going to let you live to fight another day? Blossom might trust you, but she's not here," the Artificial explained patiently. "So, well, time to -" her words were cut off by a flare of light from the portal, blinding everyone.

Every one of the natives, the Artificials, soldiers, Gemini, and Regina stopped and stared at the two women who had appeared.

One at 175 centimeters, clad in a black miniskirt that didn't so much emphasize the amount of skin shown as the powerful muscle of her legs under a pair of shorts. A thin pink sash with a heart buckle, the traditional ribbon tied across her chest, and a pair of thin, armored shoulder-pads advertised that she was a Precure, but no one present had ever seen one who could be defined firmly as a woman rather than a girl, aside from their leaders. Long, fingerless gloves, leg-warmers with more of the traditional heart ribbons, and a pair of heavy brown leather boots completed her clothing. Slim, she still somehow radiated power and an intimidating strength that seemed to shake the ground slightly with every step. "Emissary of Light, Cure Black." The self-introduction sent a wave of terror through all the natives who heard it.

Her companion was similarly dressed, but not quite identical. In white with blue ribbons, she was notably shorter at only 170 centimeters. She seemed even thinner, her minidress billowing around her to give an impression of butterfly wings. Her long hair was done up in a pigtail with ribbon. She moved with a grace and elegance that seemed ready to take off into flight at a moment's notice. "Emissary of Light, Cure White."

The second announcement sent the whole group into action. Regina was dropped to the ground like a sack of potatoes, soldiers swung up their guns, and the Artificial Precure charged down the pair. There was no semblance of discipline or sanity, just an unruly mob filled with a mix of fear, anger, and desire for glory.

Black moved first, plowing into the Artificials just ahead of the gunfire. It couldn't be said to be pretty, every time she landed a blow it knocked down three of the girls, using their bodies as cover against the more dangerous shots from the soldiers.

White was second, dancing around the gunshots sent in her direction. It seemed every time someone got her in their sights, she suddenly_ wasn't there_ anymore, a little to the left or right, but with a determined expression. When the soldiers realized they were just putting their own girls at risk, the gunfire stopped and the few Artificials who weren't getting beaten into the ground by Black moved towards her. White didn't even hesitate, knocking each down with her own momentum seemingly with a touch.

Barely twenty seconds later, it seemed to be over, Cure Black reaching the captured group first. "You girls okay?" There was a stunned nod of assent from each, and she grinned. "Good. Change of plans, obviously…"

White landed next to them. "Well, I'll say one thing for this side…" The Artificial Precure started to stand, barely recovering. "...they don't give up easily."

Black gave her partners an easy grin. "Luminous? Let's send them packing. Everyone else stand back…"

The Artificials massed up for one final charge, magic and physical force being employed towards the invaders. But when they heard the voices ring out, they stopped as a seemingly impossible amount of energy gathered.

"Extreme…" Black and White said together, holding hands.

"LUMINARIO!" Hikari added.

The JSDF camp ceased to exist a moment later.

Heart stared at the scar left in the earth in the attack's wake. "...did you…?"

White shook her head. "We toned it down a bit. Actually a lot. They'll probably land in the bay in Sapporo in a few minutes."

* * *

Bloom groaned and rolled onto her side, holding the gauze that Sebastian had provided her up to the hole in her stomach. "Dammit..." She felt someone do the same to her back and looked into Windy's eyes gratefully, before giving the butler a glance.

Sebastian shook his head. "You are a very lucky young woman. Without your powers, I would expect a full recovery. As it is, we probably won't need to call the hospital."

Bloom looked over at Egret, trying to sit up and finding it easier. "Mai..."

"I'm...better than you anyway." Egret was sitting up as well. Bright had a firm grip on her shoulders, peering into her eyes and taking her pulse, but Egret pushed her gently aside to try to talk more freely. "Feels like something really rung my bell, but I'll be all right..."

Bloom nodded. "Open the portal back up. We're still in this."

Tsubomi shook her head. "Miss Misumi was very clear, I'm in charge and even if we could open the portal I'm not sending you back there in your condition."

"Why would she put_ you_ in charge?" Bloom asked.

Itsuki shook her head. "Probably because she's_ not_ acting like she's got something to prove. Bloom, you're gonna be out of action for the better part of a day. Has the bleeding stopped?"

Bloom sagged back into Windy's arms "I'm fine..." she insisted again.

"Even if I believed you. . . " Tsubomi began to try to explain, but she was cut off by Egret.

"...sorry Bloom. You can't see it from where you are, but the portal's toast." She shook her head. "No one's getting to the other side that way."

Bloom forced herself to turn over, struggling against Windy's grip. The portal wasn't just toast, but the various bits of wire appeared to actually be on fire, there were dangerous sparks coming off the generator, there was a plume of acrid smoke pouring from a point in mid-air that was once a doorway to another dimension, and she wasn't quite sure but she thought she could hear ominous chanting coming from somwhere. "...just to be sure, can anyone else hear something?" A number of shaking heads came as a relief. "Okay, good...do we still have the key?"

Erika grinned. "Yeah, I gave it to Yayoi."

Bright looked up from where she had been quietly checking Egret over for worse injury. "Has . . . anybody_ seen_ Yayoi?"

* * *

Gemini hugged Regina close, and Heart suppressed a surge of jealousy at the sight. She quickly turned to the rest of the group. "Well, there goes any chance they won't know we've crossed over," she shrugged even as she spoke. "I'm worried about Bloom and Egret, but there's nothing we can do for them now. Ideas on how we can go forward without them?"

Black shook her head. "Well, we can't wait a week. We have the list of other contacts, but. . . "

Diamond shook her head. "We don't really have time for any extended interviews anymore. We'll have to leave getting that stuff up to Gemini."

Black chuckled. "Not quite what I was thinking. We'll need to split up into two groups. One to head into the YTF, and the other as a distraction. White…"

"We'll lead that group." White acknowledged. "I see what you mean. . . "

Gemini looked up from her princess. "It'll have to be Heart and her team. They. . . well, up close they look like my and Sagittarius' normal forms, but you can pass for new recruits. There's just one problem. We don't have any way to get you on that list."

Dream frowned. "I'm going with Heart…"

Rosetta looked the woman over. ". . . I think you could just barely pass for sixteen." she acknowledged. "Erm, no offence."

Dream chuckled. "None taken."

Gemini seemed to think it over. "That's max recruitment age, but . . . I have one idea, but I don't think she'll go for it."

Berry shook her head. "Can't hurt to ask, right?"

"Last time she didn't agree to my request her partner shoved a pistol in my face," Gemini clarified. "But I don't have any better ideas, so let's go for it."

Planning was interrupted by a sudden shout from the direction the portal had been in. Everyone turned to see….a whole pile of camping supplies supported by a pair of short legs with yellow, knee-high socks and shoes running at them, yelling "Wait for meeee!"

Sword was the first to react. "Peace! What are you doing here!?"

"...you forgot this stuff," Peace huffed out. "...and...I couldn't just...just let…"

Heart and Dream both threw an encouraging arm over her shoulders, causing the girl in yellow to blush slightly. Heart also spoke up. "Thanks, Yayoi. I know you're frightened….that took real courage."

Dream grinned as well. "And don't worry about your counterpart. She's nothing like you at all, I'm sure."

Gemini coughed and cut in. "Right. They'll be sending drones this way any minute. Grab a backpack and let's get to the cave. We'll need to pack it up tonight but for now. . . let's just go."

* * *

It was quickly agreed that assuming civilian guise was both pointless and wasteful. Instead they stuck to the forest paths through most of the day, walking at a brisk pace and letting their magic keep them from getting too tired. For most of the girls, that worked out pretty well, but by the time they had reached the summit Gemini was leaning heavily on Heart for support while Regina was practically sleeping in Nozomi's arms, much to several people's unspoken annoyance.

It was early into the evening when the group reached the base of the mountain. The thirty foot sheer cliff to the entrance would have stymied most people, and probably hidden them even from the government's hunting parties if they weren't being fished out of the harbor, but the girls just leaped or flew up and into it, landing easily. Heart let Gemini stand up to speak, weakly. "...we're back."

Diamond had heard about the conditions, but she was amazed, and somewhat appalled, to actually see the place that the two girls who had disrupted their lives had been living. It was a large space, with a relatively smooth floor, but that was all it had going for it besides the private location. Sandbags near the entrance diverted water around the edges in two small streams, but it was obviously needing constant repair, otherwise the whole cave would constantly be wet and miserable. Even worse was the heat - an oppressive miasma that seemed to cling to everyone's skin in seconds with sweat and grime.

As far as comfortable living, Sebastian had obviously done the best he could. Utility lighting was strung up, drilled into the ceiling and leading to a box in the corner, which judging by the wheel sticking into a natural spring, was probably a makeshift water generator. There was also a privacy screen set up around the spring itself, barely large enough for two, but staying clean would be a trial. The small screen in the corner was hooked up to both a small box that was probably some kind of TV receiver, and a slightly larger one that Diamond recognized as a small PC. All three objects had obviously been chosen for their size and weight. By apparent necessity (or lack of lighting, as a sudden dimming of the bulbs above reminded her the generator was obviously being strained to do as much as it was) the only cooking area was a small firepit in the middle of the main cavern, with a grill over it.

That was the positive. The signs, however, were everywhere that it wasn't going well. A small pile of regular clothing, and several tuxedos, in the corner had a rather distinctive aroma coming from it indicating laundry hadn't been done in some time. The remains of numerous cup noodle dinners was strewn about, with about half a palette of them still stacked up in a corner waiting to be consumed. Instant tea packages and a small number of soda bottles were also everywhere, the remains of long nights awake. The walls were plastered with marked, dirty, and torn maps of Tokyo, covered in stains that Diamond couldn't identify, a few looking disturbingly like blood.

The worst, though, was the inhabitants. Four pairs of eyes looked up at Gemini's words. Dominating the room with his height, so tall he seemed to fill the low-ceilinged cavern, was Sebastian, but it was certainly not Sebastian as Diamond had ever seen the man. His once meticulously-groomed hair and moustache were wild and frayed. In place of his refined glasses were a pair of heavily tinted safety goggles. A few tufts of a white beard overall gave him a wild, scruffy appearance at odds with his demeanor. While he had spent some effort trying to keep his pants in nice condition and neatly pressed, it was a hopeless cause as accidents with the soldiering iron and any other tools had started to put holes in them. Apparently he had given up on the jacket and dress shirt, leaving him in a tank top to deal with the heat of his engineering jobs. With a small start, Diamond realized he_ must_ work out extensively, with a physique like that hidden under his normal tuxedo.

Working with him was a boy, obviously of high school age, in a dark purple T-shirt and slacks. He was turning a screwdriver on whatever contraption the pair were working on, sweating, and, Diamond couldn't help but notice his own body was in fine shape as well, slender and graceful. His hair was back in a practical ponytail, but it didn't take much to imagine it flowing loose, the boy playing guitar in some band and was it warm in here? With a start, she suddenly realized he looked much. . . cleaner than the other inhabitants. Her eyes narrowed for a moment, but she moved on.

The next was the first person she recognized, at least without actually needing to think about it. Alice's eyes were the same color as the one she knew, but the girl had dark circles under them. Her neat hair, always carefully styled, had been allowed to fall and grow tangled, although it was only a bit longer than it had been rather than Gemini's voluminous fountain of hair. She, too, had abandoned any pretense of high fashion for a one-piece gold swimsuit that was probably evidence of Regina's ability to steal things for the group. However, even that garment, which should have been a sign of relaxation, was instead stuck to her body from sweat. Her feet were in a small pot filled with water, a pair of tennis shoes that were frayed and falling apart next to her.

Finally the girl with the shoulder-length silver hair. She seemed a couple of years older than Diamond herself, probably in the later half of high school if she wasn't living in a cave. Unlike Alice, though, she made no concession to the heat, wearing a thick, durable gi that was dusty from long use but in much better shape than most of the clothing. Diamond blushed more deeply, realizing that it was being worn 'traditionally' and could really stand to be re-tied, although she doubted anyone cared before the group had arrived. Her yellow eyes seemed an odd match for the hair, and with a start Diamond recognized that it was Itsuki Miyoudin.

Sebastian was the first to recover. "Lady Regina is ill?"

Dream put a hand on the Jikochuu girl's forehead. "Just. . . I don't know."

Itsuki seemed to give it a moment's thought, then a curious look to the boy. "I didn't think faeries could get sick."

The unidentified young man responded after a moment's thought. "Put her on the bed, get her locker out. It might help."

Heart looked at the boy curiously. "What's in her locker that might help?"

"All that. . . stuff she's collected." He replied with a shrug. "Do we have those emergency chocolates?"

Alice seemed crestfallen for a moment on hearing about that, but nodded. "I'll get them." She pulled her feet out of the water and limped into the back cave. "Come on, it's this way. Sebastian, please turn off the lights so we can have enough in back."

"Yes, M'lady." The butler turned mad scientist stood up to do his assigned task with his usual efficiency.

Dream, Heart, and Gemini followed, looking back over their shoulders at the others. Gemini shouted behind her "Check the backpacks, there should be some good stuff in there for the rest of you. We'll have a decent meal tonight, and talk about the revised plan over that."

Rosetta watched Alice's departure with an internal wince. "She doesn't seem to be doing too well…"

Itsuki shrugged. "None of us are. Humans anyway." Rosetta nodded for her to continue. "Her problem's just that her father kept her too coddled."

"Hey!" Diamond interjected. "Mr. Yosuba's been fine with Alice having fun and going out for years!"

Sebastian coughed. "Apologies, M'lady, but there is_ some_ truth to it. M'lady's health is being hit hardest from the lack of nutrition, but none of us will be doing better than she is now in a few months. I have been trying various nutritional supplements, but she is not responding as well as I would like."

Rosetta paled a bit. "Those won't help! She needs fresh fruit and vegetables as soon as possible!"

The boy shrugged. "Where do you suggest we get them? Regularly, I mean. We can steal some, but not enough to feed four of you humans, especially three teenagers. And Regina needs nice stuff a lot more frequently. She'll be dead first if we don't solve the supply problem."

Itsuki sighed. "Enough. Sorry, this is just a long-term issue. We're getting by all right for now. It'll be dark soon, why don't you set up your sleeping bags over there and we can start getting dinner on."

White frowned slightly as Black nudged her. "I'll go check on her, but you know I'm not a medical doctor."

Black grinned. "Just do what you can. You know just about everything."

"I don't, that's the. . . oh, why do I even try?" White stuck out her tongue to emphasize that she wasn't too serious and went deeper into the caves, while everyone else followed.

* * *

Regina slowly opened her eyes, the world not quite resolving itself into phyiscal shapes before she felt a large amount of concern and worry directed at her. She yawned and stretched, looking around. Everyone had finally changed back to their normal selves, and were looking at her with relief. "Mana, Mana, Nozomi…" She grinned and stretched out in a deliberately exaggerated manner, trying to hide the slight exhaustion she still felt. "Oh, and Alice...I'm back."

Alice was holding a golden box with a clear plastic top, filled with tiny, divine little chocolates. Regina couldn't quite resist drooling as they were put in her lap. But then she looked up. It would be impossible for a human to see, but...Regina looked away and mumbled "I wanted the butterscotch. You take them."

Alice jumped and reached out for the treats, but Gemini scowled. "Regina, we've been saving those for you."

"Alice. Can. Have. Them." Regina bit out, trying to restrain the nearly uncontrollable urge to just eat them all. Rich, decadent, yummy treats that they wouldn't be able to get again ever, and they were alllll hers. "I'm fine."

Nozomi and Mana glanced at each other nervously. "Why don't we share them?" Mana asked.

"...yeahthatsoundsgreat," Regina's words came out in a tumble, too fast to be natural. "Oh, a peppermint!" She grabbed the particular one out of the box in question before passing the whole thing to Alice, closing her eyes and letting it melt in her mouth. The rich, creamy liqour flooded her tastebuds (or whatever passed for them, she didn't claim to be a xenobiology major) while the others stared. By the time it was gone and she looked up, she realized they were still staring. "What?"

Nozomi coughed. "You . . . look a lot better. Color in your cheeks again."

"...Thanks...guess I was running a bit empty." Regina winced. "Alice. . . seriously, you look like you need those more than me now. You're my precious friend too, so I won't be doing well if you don't cheer up okay?"

Alice grinned weakly, taking one of the chocolates and sticking it into her mouth. Regina stared at the act, feeling strength returning even more as Alice smiled. "Good. Sorry to bother you everybody. Alice, I've had some nice places to sleep last few days. So has Gemini, so we'll skip our turns on the bed, why don't you take it tonight?"

Alice blinked. "I couldn't! It's your turn!"

Gemini shook her own head. "Nonsense. Regina's right, we've been sleeping in nothing but beds and futons since we left. It was. . . almost a vacation."

Regina slid out and stood up. "I'll go ahead and recharge your Communes. Hopefully, one last fight."

At that statement Alice's jaw dropped. "...you mean...it might be over!?"

Gemini glared at Regina, but nodded. "We're revising the plan, but if this works in a month you'll be back at the mansion. The fight won't be over, but you'll have a much more important job than being Cure Sagittarius."

Alice blinked, sagging. "What job would that be?"

"Raking the bastards over the coals day and night."

Regina couldn't help but note the way Mana stepped back from Alice's malevolent grin.

* * *

Makoto watched the others go, then nodded to Itsuki. "There's something I need to talk to you about." Her voice dropped a bit. "Away from the others."

Itsuki blinked a few times in obvious confusion. "We'll collect water for dinner. We need to filter it too, so that'll take a few minutes." Makoto followed her into the spring room, where a small water filter pitcher was set up.

As they quietly poured water into it, Makoto glanced to make sure no one was listening in, and then asked the question. "So, Gemini's a faerie, then."

Itsuki nearly spilled the bucket onto Makoto's head in shock. "How did you…"

"It wasn't that hard, but your friend out there confirmed it." Makoto's voice was dry with humor. "Four humans, not five. Does she know?"

"No, and Regina's sure telling her would be a bad idea." Itsuki sighed, pouring some more. "Besides, it doesn't change a damn thing. Heck, you haven't met the last member of our merry band. He's out for revenge, but other than a bit of an obsession with killing Precure he hasn't been a bad ally."

Makoto winced at the casual way she had just been informed of a murderous youkai living with them. "Where is he?"

"Out on patrol. He doesn't like to bring his radio, but he usually comes back from his turn without a scratch. And we couldn't do anything for any injuries anyway." Itsuki sighed. "Besides, I doubt you know him. He was originally active in Paris of all places."

"France?" Makoto said after scouring her memories for a moment.

Another shrug. "It's a bit outside Japan but he's been around so long that we don't really know where he originally showed up, and he was definitely here before the Accords and the travel ban."

"Travel ban?"

"Right, you don't know." Itsuki sighed. "Basically ever since the Ginza went bye-bye, all the world leaders got together and decided that you need to get checked out at both ends of a trip in or out of Japan, and since most people can't afford it you basically can't leave the country. They even have robotic ships so we can keep up trade with the outside world, and the internet's still up for now. Same with the Quarantine Zones - no one gets in or out without being checked, and the trains are automated. If no one's scheduled to be on a train and there's life signs when it reaches the outside, they blow it up."

Makoto winced. "That's why we needed the Cure Decors. To get through the Quarantine."

"Right in one." Itsuki agreed. "You don't want to try to fly in either, if you can."

Makoto shook her head. "We're getting off topic."

"There is no topic," Itsuki bluntly said. "No one tells Gemini, she doesn't remember anything inconvenient, we all go on pretending."

* * *

Hikari pulled out the tea set from her backpack, starting to set it up with Nagisa (who she admitted wasn't much help) when Honoka came back and sat down. The two shared a glance, and then a shake of the head. "It's as bad as it looks, then?"

Nagisa surprised Hikari by being the one to answer her question. "Worse."

Honoka shook her head. "They could surprise me, I_ said_ I'm not an expert, but I don't think they'd survive winter out here."

Hikari turned back to her tea. ". . . but it doesn't matter, right? We've got the new plan, they should be all right before then."

"It it works," Nagisa shook her head. "We were relying on Bloom and Egret for the biometrics. Rikka can probably get some stuff, maybe Yayoi, but we're going to need an expert hacker."

Hikari glanced at Honoka questioningly, but didn't press at another shake of the head. Instead the woman asked her "Any more feelings or premonitions?"

". . . I'm not sure yet." Hikari admitted. "I haven't felt anything like this since. . . well, since the Dark King. Something is_ very_ wrong."

The women both paled visibly at that statement. "You don't think. . . "

"Don't know." Hikari finished cleaning the tea implements. "But. . . it feels like it. They didn't finish the job."

". . . are you_ sure?_" Nagisa's question was grim.

Hikari shook her head. "I'm not sure of anything, but if it's related. . . I'll probably have a dream tonight. And this time I won't try to ignore it."

* * *

Yuri glanced across the room pensively at the boy in purple. There was something about him that struck her as. . . well, more than familiar. But she wasn't sure, and he seemed reluctant to talk to her as well.

There was no help for it though. If they were going to work together. . . She stood up and crossed the room, sitting down next to the boy and holding down a wire. "Here."

"Thanks, Yuri," He said easily, not looking up.

She blinked. "You...are Cologne."

"Yes." He quickly soldered the wire down, then looked up. "Why? Why come here?"

". . . because you needed my help. Every experienced Precure you can get, right?"

Cologne stared at her. ". . . I see. Sorry." He suddenly threw his arms around her. "I. . . I'm sorry. I'm so used to help coming with strings attached."

"...what?" To say Yuri was shocked at that was beyond measure. "You thought I was. . ."

"...your partner...I died on the other side, didn't I?"

"Yes." Yuri realized she didn't want to leave it quite at that. "Did you ever run into Dark Precure?"

". . . she's still around, probably." He let go. "But no one's seen her in awhile." He looked away again. "You can transform like Blossom and Marine then?"

". . . it took a long time. Almost too long." She sighed. "Can I ask. . . "

"Do you need to know?"

". . . do I?"

Cologne seriously thought about it for a moment, which Yuri regarded as a good sign. "Squad of Artifiicals sent to hunt us down. They got the baby before I could even learn his name. I think Eclipse got to partner with him for one, maybe two fights before they captured him, and after you died. . . it wasn't ideal but she has the talent."

"She does," Yuri acknowledged. "Have you. . . "

"Couldn't afford to. I'm sorry, Yuri but. . . I'm not ready for this. I don't think I will be until we're done."

". . . I understand. Sorry to bother you."

Cologne shook his head. "It's not a bother. Never you, Yuri. But. . . maybe we should talk about other topics. After I'm done with this thing."

* * *

Alice watched out of the corner of her eye as her counterpart took her seat back. She was about to frown and scold her over resting when others were working, but she noticed the small amount of blood on the bandages over the soles of her feet. Instead she walked over and gently put an arm around the girl, eliciting a yelp. She couldn't help but notice, worriedly, that she was actually noticeably bigger than the girl. "Are you all right?"

Alice was shocked when her mirror responded in a much rougher voice "Don't ask things like that. We're_ not_ all right and it's going to be years before we are again, if it happens."

"Your language…?"

The mirror girl barked a laugh. "You think I'd bother with that out here?"

"I suppose not." It was still a shock to hear her own voice speaking that way. "...this is awkward."

"Call me Sagittarius," Cure Sagittarius responded easily enough. "I don't think the 'abandon your real name' bit is very healthy but when we've got the same rights to it may as well be a good host."

Alice smiled. "Is there anything I can get for you?" she decided to move on.

"Again, don't. I'll keep up as long as I can."

Alice winced at the tone. "You know, this plan may not work."

"I kind of have to hope it does," Sagittarius sighed. "Your point?"

". . . . if it doesn't you can. . . "

"What? Come back with you? Alice suddenly has a twin sister?" Sagittarius growled. . . then collapsed, hiding her face in her hands. ". . . it would work too. Sebastian's just crazy enough to_ make_ it work," Alice couldn't tell if Sagittarius was crying or not. "But I couldn't leave without the others."

"You . . . you can't expect me to just_ leave_ you like this."

Sagittarius looked up, and Alice took a step back at the tears streaming down the other girl's face and the way it contrasted with the fierce mask she had slipped over it. "That's exactly what you are going to have to do."

Alice winced again as the point was hit home - she couldn't stay, or she'd end up just about in the same state. ". . . here." She held out an orange. "We brought a bit of fruit, anyway."

". . . thanks. I'll eat it with dinner."

* * *

Nearby, Nozomi turned from the scene playing out between the two and shook her head. "Gemini didn't know the half of it."

"Or maybe she just didn't want to say," Miki gave the sleeping bag and mat a disgusted look. "It's too bad Black and White blew that camp away. . . we could at least have gotten cots or something." Suddenly, she felt an overwhelming sense of dread and terror and looked up to see Nozomi rapidly shaking her head. But it was far too late.

"You...did...what?" Sebastian's voice came from behind her, low and full of menace. "There was a camp, presumably of soldiers, and you_ destroyed_ it?"

"It wasn't their fault!" Nozomi said quickly. "There were over a hundred Precure and soldiers attacking us and we were at our limit! If Black and White hadn't done it we would probably have been captured."

"Military rations are some of the best non-perishable nutrition in the world! With that camp's supplies we could have held out for a year in our new location." Sebastian no longer seemed about ready to kill, but he was still_ very_ angry. "We would have been out of danger, M'lady would not have to deal with those. . . ruffians for food that barely fills the belly. To say nothing of the other supplies. We might finally have been able to approximate some level of comfort, and instead…"

Miki snapped "We did what we could, okay? Gemini didn't make it clear how desperate the situation was, or we might have been able to. . to . . . to. . . "

Nagisa put a hand on Sebasitan's shoulder. "Look, man, I'm sorry about that. If it helps, I know a guy stationed in Okinawa. American. On our side he's not a bad guy, but he likes to make a little extra money. Over here. . . well, if he's still there he might be willing to sell some surplus."

Sebastian shook his head. "The credit system makes that impossible to do without being tracked, and we have precious little to barter with aside from the girls' strength. I appreciate the thought, but . . . "

". . . I see," Nagisa sighed. "I'll try to keep an eye out, direct Regina to the good stuff during the fight."

"As you say," Sebastian turned. "At least you brought a few days worth. We'll begin dinner soon."

* * *

Davie and Mepple paced back and forth, passing each other as they moved in the opposite directions, both deep in thought. They had found a small, concealed part of the cave in which to hide, and most of the other faeries had gone in there to play to take their minds off the situation, which in particular suited Davie just fine.

Finally, Mepple looked up at the more cat-like faerie. "I can't sense anything-mepo."

Davie shook her head as well. "The darkness in this world is just too strong-davie."

Mepple crossed his arms over his chest just as best as he could. "Do you know what could cause this-mepo?"

"No. Not even King Jikochuu is strong enough to just-davie…"

Mepple swallowed. "Do you think the evil Precure are actuallly using evil power-Mepo?"

"...yes-davie," The purple faeire sighed. "But using dark power doesn't make_ them_ bad-davie."

Mepple looked for a moment like he was about to argue the point, but Lance had just started to chew on Porun's ear. ". . . looks like Mipple needs our help-mepo!"

* * *

Rikka busied herself with picking up the various bits of trash that had been allowed to let go, sighing as she set aside the first bag and picking up a second. She had just picked up yet another instant ramen package when she felt a hand on her shoulder. "You don't have to do that," Gemini said to her, not too coldly. "We won't be here much longer anyway."

"All the more reason," Rikka shrugged. "We shouldn't leave the cave a mess."

Gemini stopped, then giggled. "You're probably right." She started to work on picking up another spot nearby. "Look, Diamond. . . "

"Nothing to be sorry about," Rikka interrupted with a firm tone of voice. "I saw enough of that fight. I don't know what happened to Rune, but she wasn't herself. I'm going to try to talk to her."

Gemini glanced at her out of the corner of her eye, warily. "Rikka...I appreciate the offer, but I have to tell you I think that's a bad idea. She won't listen to me or Regina at all, but I can guess how the conversation with Heart went. Alice has been trying the same thing for months, and it just seems to make her worse. I honestly don't know what's_ wrong_ with her?"

Rikka swallowed. "She thinks she's lost her best friend," she pointed out. "And to. . . well, you have to admit Regina likes to play up the 'bad girl.' Appearances are important, and that's probably not helping."

"It's not like I'm asking Rune to marry her, just_ talk_!" Gemini snapped. "Rune just ran off to the police the second Regina appearaed, never gave her a chance!"

Rikka found herself shouting back "Look at it from her point of view! When Regina came to our school for the first time on our side, she gagged me for trying to talk, then threatened to blow up the school over a student council meeting!"

"And I explained that that wasn't going to work!" Gemini screamed back. "I had it all under control until she just decided to betray us for a luxury apartment!"

"SHE LOVES YOU!" Rikka's voice reached the point of echoing in the cave.

Suddenly both girls stopped, realizing everybody had turned to stare at them. Gemini winced. ". . . Diamond - I mean, Rikka. I. . . are you sure?"

"As sure as I can be of anything about her," Rikka confirmed with a clear-eyed expression. "She picked a bad way to show it, but I_ know_ I wouldn't turn on Mana for all the money in the world."

There was a long silence. Rikka was about to break it, but Gemini spoke suddenly. ". . . if you have to try, I won't stop you." Gemini's voice cracked. "But, please,_ please_ be careful."

* * *

The dinner, contrary to expectations, was quiet. Nagisa explained the plan they had outlined briefly after the battle, and everyone dug silently into their rice and vegetables, saving the meat for last. Finally, it was Sagittarius who spoke. "If this doesn't work, and we don't get anything, you realize that even IF we all survive we'll never be able to show our faces in polite society again, right? This is nothing short of an all-out assault on the YTF's illusion of control."

Cologne nodded his agreement. "This is too big a risk. I'm not sure even our allies will want to do too much business with us after this stunt."

Gemini looked vaguely betrayed, but Regina was the one who spoke up. "Guys, it's not just about us anymore. I know you were all planning on blowing up the damn Quarantine Zone. Don't get nervous just because now it's_ you_ paying the price instead of the people you say you care about." All of the natives winced at that, before they sighed as one. "Good. Now, that said, this is gonna be a tough, and long, fight. I don't think we have time to track down every ex-Precure who has reason to fight, but do we know the big ones? Especially the ones we have an in with now?" She nodded to Miki and Yayoi meaningfully.

Sebastian nodded, and said four names. "Muse. Lemonade. Peach. Sunny."

Gemini gulped nervously at the first name. ". . . even for this, is bringing in Muse a good idea? No offense, miss Kise, but she's crazier than Peace."

Nozomi went pale at that brief description. "Crazier?"

"Debatable," Sagittarius replied. "I think these days she's in the old Kyoto prefecture, but she's got her own way into the Quarantine Zone. She won't take much convincing, either."

Miki chewed on her lip thoughtfully. "Love. I guess that means I have to go see Love on this side."

"Right," Gemini grinned broadly. "Hopefully she'll be easy to convince. And she lives in Tokyo. Don't know her story though."

Yayoi nodded. "I can talk to Akane...I mean Sunny."

Mana clapped her hands. "That's decided, then. Do you have a new place to stay?"

Gemini nodded. "Just for a few days, after that we'll need to go somewhere out of the way again. We'd been hoping to avoid it, but. . . "

That was when the light of the moon streaming in from the cave entrance was blocked by a tall man. His cane, narrow eyes, and neatly pressed Victorian-era suit with ruffled shirt presented an odd sight indeed.

Yuri jumped to her feet. "Baron Salamander!"

". . . . pardon, do I know you?"

Yuri glanced askance at Cologne, who gave her a brief nod. "The first and last Desert Apostle."

Alice grinned. "I'll handle introductions. But we're from the other world Gemini and Regina came to."

"A pleasure," Salamander bowed to them. "Ladies, I assume this means you know we have been discovered. My delay was due to evading the drones. I conjured a high wind to force them down, but that won't last. We have until morning to be gone."

Mana winced at that. ". . . let's finish quickly and get to bed early, then. I assume we're taking the bookshelf?"

"Yeah," Gemini sighed. "And then a conversation I'm not looking forward to."

"With who?" Rikka asked, curious as to just who could cause Gemini such resignation.

"The Oyabun."


End file.
